FERG vs. NOC: Ferguson Enterprises vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but FERG is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Profile Item	FERG	NOC
Name	Ferguson Enterprises Inc.	Northrop Grumman Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	45.21 billion USD	74.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 5, 2010	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FERG

NOC

GSPC

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
Total Return (1Y)	6.92%	-3.34%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	20.73%	7.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	13.21%	9.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FERG

NOC

GSPC

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a negative beta of -0.12, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has a non-negative beta of 1.08.

Risk profile metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	32.85%	28.86%
Beta (5Y)	1.08	-0.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-43.31%	-37.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.46M	902.47K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FERG and NOC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.08	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.12	-0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Northrop Grumman (NOC) earns 26.07% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has no ROE this period.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%
FERG: --

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

26.07%

Max: 40.55%
NOC: 26.07%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): FERG does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; NOC is benchmarked against the Capital Goods industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 6.32% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

6.32%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
FERG: 6.32%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

10.37%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
NOC: 10.37%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 10.16% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

10.16%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
FERG: 10.16%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

12.91%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
NOC: 12.91%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
ROE (TTM)	--	26.07%
ROA (TTM)	--	7.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.32%	10.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.16%	12.91%
Gross Margin (TTM)	30.63%	20.03%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports revenue growth of 2.24%, ranked against its industry; Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has no revenue growth figure this period.

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 19.11% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	--	2.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	4.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	19.11%	2.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-2.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 1.73 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for NOC.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

1.73

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
FERG: 1.73
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
NOC: 1.23
Min: 0.36

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 1.11 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

1.11

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
FERG: 1.11
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

0.93

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
NOC: 0.93
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.73	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.11	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.10	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 1.80% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

1.80%

Max: 2.66%
FERG: 1.80%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.82%

Max: 2.66%
NOC: 1.82%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 33.57% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

33.57%

Max: 67.39%
FERG: 33.57%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

30.18%

Max: 67.39%
NOC: 30.18%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.80%	1.82%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	33.57%	30.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 23.00 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for NOC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

23.00

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
FERG: 23.00
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

16.57

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
NOC: 16.57
Min: 3.03

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 1.44 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

1.44

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
FERG: 1.44
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.71

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
NOC: 1.71
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 3.99 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) at 7.29 carries an above-peer premium to book — FERG is pricier on assets.

FERG

Capital Goods industry group

7.29

Max: 9.66
FERG: 7.29
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

3.99

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
NOC: 3.99
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	FERG	NOC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	23.00	16.57
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.44	1.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.29	3.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	4.21%