Northrop Grumman Is a Space Company Now, and That's Good News for Investors

Northrop Grumman's bet on a new space division is paying off in the form of stronger profit margins.Seven years ago, Northrop Grumman (NOC -0.28%) embarked upon a bold experiment. Buying space company Orbital ATK, Northrop would transform itself from an aerospace company (with an emphasis on the "aero" part but only a tangential relationship to space) into a more balanced aerospace stock with equal parts aeronautics and space systems.Initially, the experiment didn't go well. Orbital ATK had invested heavily ...