Friday, FBR Capital Markets reiterated Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) stock with an Outperform rating and a price target of $75. The brokerage increased its 2010 first quarter EPS estimate to $1.33 from $1.26, and its 2010 estimate to $5.80 from $5.50.
Analyst Patrick McCarthy noted that Northrop Grumman reported fourth quarter results on February 4 that were lower than consensus expectations in revenues and EPS. The company reported revenue of $8.9 billion was lower than the consensus of $9.0 billion but higher than our estimate of $8.8 billion.
The analyst said that the company's revenues, excluding the recent TASC divestiture, were up 2% year-over-year. Segment operating margins were lower than expected for the quarter and were down year-over-year, mainly due to operational headwinds faced at shipbuilding and electronic systems.
The analyst added that the company's EPS were $1.19, versus the consensus of $1.26 and his estimate of $1.18. The company issued EPS guidance for 2010 at $5.70 to $5.95, on revenues of $34.0 billion to $34.6 billion.
However, the analyst noted that, despite decent results this quarter, there is likely to be additional volatility in ship systems over the next few quarters, and he views other large-cap defense names as more attractive investments at the current time.
Currently, NOC is down $0.58 or 1.00% and trading at $57.32.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.