Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $480.27 (market cap $68.83B), while Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at $41.1 (market cap $23.60B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 2.9× Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 2.04% dividend while Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Northrop Grumman Corporation for 81 Days and Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund for 80 Days on average.
| NOC | XLU | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.83B | $23.60B |
Volume | 1,081,989 | 28,758,237 |
Sector | Industrials | — |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $47.73 |
52-Week Low | $473.46 | $39.25 |
Typical Hold Time | 81 Days | 80 Days |
Enterprise Value | $82.81B | — |
Dividend Yield | 2.04% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $473.46, down 2.0% on the day, reflecting a bearish technical signal amid recent contract loss news. The stock exhibits strong fundamentals with a P/E of 15.05, net income margin of 10.48%, and consistent earnings beats in recent quarters. Revenue growth is steady, supported by a record backlog, though the loss of the $20 billion Navy F/A-XX contract to Boeing introduces competitive pressure.
The outlook remains supported by robust defense budgets and key programs like the B-21 bomber, but investor sentiment is cautious near-term. Analyst consensus is bullish with a $600.62 price target, though technical indicators suggest potential near-term weakness. Risks include contract dependencies and macroeconomic shifts in defense spending.
XLU trades at $41.15, down slightly by 0.02% with mixed technical signals showing a bullish moving average trend but neutral oscillators. The ETF recently hit 52-week lows amid sector-wide pressure from rising interest rates. Recent news highlights utility stocks as oversold with potential defensive appeal during market volatility.
The outlook remains cautious due to interest rate sensitivity, though oversold conditions may present opportunity for defensive positioning. Key risks include continued rate hikes and regulatory pressures, while potential upside exists if utilities regain favor as AI power demand grows.
Trailing returns across standard periods
What Pluang investors did over the last 30 days
Latest headlines on both assets
Northrop Grumman is a defense contractor that is diversified across short-cycle and long-cycle businesses. The firm's segments include aeronautics, mission systems, defense services, and space systems. The company's aerospace segment creates the fuselage for the massive F-35 program and produces various piloted and autonomous flight systems. Mission systems creates a variety of sensors and processors for defense hardware. The defense systems segment is a long-range missile manufacturer. Finally, the company's space systems segment produces various space structures, sensors, and satellites.
Read more on NOC →In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes securities of companies from the following industries: electric utilities; water utilities; multi-utilities; independent power and renewable electricity producers; and gas utilities. The fund is non-diversified.
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