In the latest trading session, Northrop Grumman (NOC) closed at $541.43, marking a -0.76% move from the previous day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.79%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.23%.Heading into today, shares of the defense contractor had gained 4.37% over the past month, lagging the Aerospace sector's gain of 7.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 8.6% in that time.Northrop Grumman will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Northrop Grumman is projected to report earnings of $6.55 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 9.17%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $9.87 billion, up 14.25% from the year-ago period.NOC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $24.64 per share and revenue of $36.51 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -3.86% and +2.38%, respectively.Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.24% lower. Northrop Grumman is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Looking at its valuation, Northrop Grumman is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 22.14. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.14, so we one might conclude that Northrop Grumman is trading at a no noticeable deviation comparatively.Also, we should mention that NOC has a PEG ratio of 7.74. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Aerospace - Defense industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.27 as of yesterday's close.The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, which puts it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>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 Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research