Northrop Clinches Deal to Support E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Jets

Northrop Grumman Corp.’s NOC business unit, Northrop Grumman Systems, recently clinched a modification contract involving its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye jets. The award has been provided by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.Details of NOC’s DealPer the terms of the deal, Northrop will provide support for integrating production attrition capabilities, including updates to software and hardware throughout their life cycle. It covers a wide range of tasks, such as design, programming, integration, manufacturing, quality checks and testing, for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, with varying levels of effort over time.Valued at nearly $46.7 million, the contract is anticipated to be completed by May 2029. The work related to this contract will be executed in multiple locations across the United States.What Lies Next for NOC Stock?Rising military conflicts, terrorism and border disputes, along with rapid technological advancements in combat jets, have led nations to increase their defense spending on combat-proven jets, which constitute an integral part of their defense structure.This is likely to have prompted the Mordor Intelligence firm to forecast a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% for the global military aviation market during the 2025-2030 period.Such growth prospects should benefit Northrop, which has been a pioneer in the development of manned aircraft. The company's product line includes a wide range of defense aircraft like E-2C Hawkeye 2000, E-130J TACAMO, F-5 Tiger and B-2 Spirit Stealth.  In particular, Northrop's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft provides combat management, air and missile defense, and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system. These offer the warfighter greater battlespace awareness, particularly in the domain of information operations. These features of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye jets must have been boosting its demand, ushering in solid order flows, like the latest contract win, and in the future, should continue to steadily contribute to NOC’s revenue growth.Opportunities for Other Aerospace StocksOther aerospace companies that are likely to benefit from the expanding global military aviation market are discussed below:The Boeing Company BA: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-15EX, CH-47 Chinook, Chinook Block II and EA-18G Growler.Boeing boasts a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 18.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BA’s 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 25.6%.Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT: The company is among the leaders in the combat aircraft space, with its product portfolio constituting some of the most advanced military aircraft, such as the F-35 Lightning II, F-21, F-22 Raptor and F-16 Fighting Falcon.Lockheed boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LMT’s 2025 sales implies an improvement of 4.7%.Embraer S.A. ERJ: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes the A-29 Super Tucano, P600 AEW&C and the C-390 Millennium military multi-mission aircraft.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ERJ’s 2025 sales indicates growth of 15.4%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 150.60% in the last four quarters.NOC Stock Price MovementIn the past month, Northrop shares have risen 4% compared with the industry’s growth of 2.8%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchNOC’s Zacks RankNorthrop currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Higher. Faster. Sooner. Buy These Stocks NowA small number of stocks are primed for a breakout, and you have a chance to get in before they take off.At any given time, there are only 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. On average, this list more than doubles the S&P 500. We’ve combed through the latest Strong Buys and selected 7 compelling companies likely to jump sooner and climb higher than any other stock you could buy this month.You'll learn everything you need to know about these exciting trades in our brand-new Special Report, 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Download the report free now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (ERJ): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks