HONA vs. NOC: Honeywell Aerospace vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) are both classified in the Aerospace & Defense sub-industry within the broader Aerospace & Defense industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been public since December 31, 1981, giving it decades of market history across multiple cycles, while Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) listed only on June 15, 2026 and lacks comparable through-cycle data.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Both Honeywell Aerospace (HONA, beta -5.78) and Northrop Grumman (NOC, beta -0.12) report negative betas, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is unusual for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise; treat both readings with caution.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Both HONA and NOC need 1-year volatility and 1-year return to plot risk-return positioning.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

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

Both Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at 11.25% 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.

Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at 23.69% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at 12.68% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.24% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at -36.80% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at 1.64 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.

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Northrop Grumman (NOC) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93 against its industry range, while Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) reports no figure this period.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a yield of 1.82%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a payout of 30.18%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at 43.32 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

On P/S ratio, both Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) at 2.69 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) reports a negative P/B ratio of -18.85, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports 3.99, ranking against industry peers normally.

Valuation Metrics