11 Best Aerospace and Defense Stocks to Buy Right Now

7. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is one of the best aerospace and defense stocks to buy right now. The company is a titan in the industry especially known for its military hardware and space technology. It operates through four main business segments namely, Aeronautics, Defense, Mission, and Space Systems.

The latest quarter which is the fiscal third quarter of 2024 highlighted some interesting details about the company. On one hand, the total sales of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) grew rather slowly by only 2% year-over-year to reach $10 billion, with none of the segments posting significant growth. On the other hand, the company reported net awards of $11.7 billion, even bigger than its quarterly revenue, with a total backlog reaching a record high of $85 billion.

While none of the segments posted encouraging sales, its Space and Mission system segments enjoyed a big increase in profitability, with operating profits of the Space segment alone increasing 14% year over year. Space segment is now officially the second most profitable venture of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC). Most of the new orders received by the company are related to either Mission system or Space system segments. Considering this, management anticipates that sales will exceed $41 billion and operating profits to be more than $4.5 billion this year across the company.

Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund stated the following regarding Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) pulled back in November following very strong performance in October that was tied to solid earnings and heightened geopolitical issues that included the war in Israel. While geopolitical issues remained front and center in November, tensions did not broaden to other areas through the end of the year.”