Orin
NTRSNasdaq·Asset Management

Northern Trust Corporation NTRS

Market cap $31.9BP/E 14.9× trailingGross margin 59.8%Reports Wed 21 Oct, before the open
$174.09
−0.41 (−0.23%)live 11:25 ET
52-wk $121.12 – $195.78
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 17 Aug · take v6. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Northern Trust's Q2 2026 inflection—$4.23 EPS and raised full-year guidance—validates the recovery from a soft FY2025 where revenue declined ~10% to $14.3B and EPS compressed to $8.74. However, the stock has run aggressively to $191.41, sitting 24% above the 200-day MA ($154.12) with RSI at 66.3, and trades at 16.3x trailing earnings—a 25% premium to the 13.1x peer median.

With $5.46B in FY2025 free cash flow providing underlying support and the platform expanding via new mandates like First Sentier, the fundamental story is intact, but much of the re-rating appears priced in at current levels.

What could go wrong

  • Valuation premium vulnerable. At 16.3x trailing earnings versus a 13.1x peer median (25% premium), any disappointment in the earnings recovery could trigger multiple compression back toward peer levels.
  • Revenue volatility. FY2025 revenue fell ~10% from $15.9B to $14.3B after a sharp jump from $12.1B in 2023, showing sensitivity to fee and interest rate cycles that could recur.
  • Insider net selling. Over 24 months, insiders net sold $40.7M in value despite a positive net share count of ~20K, suggesting executives are monetizing into the rally.
  • Technical overextension. Stock is 6.5% above its 50-day MA and 24% above its 200-day MA with RSI at 66.3, increasing near-term pullback risk.

What would change my mind

Q3 2026 earnings confirm guidance raise. EPS exceeds ~$2.50+ with revenue growth reaccelerating, validating the raised full-year outlook and justifying the valuation premium.bullish
Fee income deceleration. Trust, investment, and other fees slow quarter-over-quarter, signaling the Q2 inflection was driven by one-off items rather than durable growth.bearish
Smart money conviction increases. Smart money score rises meaningfully above 0.038 with fund count recovering above 64, indicating institutional accumulation.bullish
Stock breaks below 50-day MA. Price closes below $179.75 (50-day MA), signaling the momentum trade is unwinding and offering a better entry point.bearish

Where this comes from: FMP annual fundamentals · FMP annual fundamentals · Technicals as of 2026-08-14 · Peer relative comparison. Orin's read on NTRS; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$2.0B0.0% of fund
State Street$1.6B0.0% of fund
Fmr$1.5B0.1% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$1.5B0.1% of fund
Massachusetts Financial Services /Ma/$1.0B0.3% of fund
Northern Trust$965.6M0.1% of fund

92 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 216 Form 4 filings, net −$41.2M. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 6 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Financial Services
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E14.9×14.7×21.6×
P/S2.10×1.79×—
P/B2.4×1.6×—

Its P/E sits 60th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.36σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

-9.7%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $5.5B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

35 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$183

$173 – $194 · +5% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 12 buy or overweight
  • 18 hold
  • 5 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 11.7× of 5 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
NTRSNorthern Trust Corporation$32B14.9×—59.8%14.8%17%
CFGCitizens Financial Group, Inc.$27B14.0×9.8×72.4%18.5%8%
CINFCincinnati Financial Corporation$25B7.6×5.5×52.3%23.8%21%
STTState Street Corporation$50B15.7×14.8×65.3%15.0%12%
TROWT. Rowe Price Group, Inc.$22B10.4×6.9×70.7%29.3%20%
USBU.S. Bancorp$91B11.7×11.1×63.8%18.7%12%

The median is of the 5 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 27.8% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 20.2×FY25 15.5×

What its sector has traded at

Financial Services
FY14 29.6×FY26 23.8×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$391$167.59 · +133%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$430$167.59 · +157%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $174.09
52-week range$121 – $196
Analyst targets$173 – $194
Standard DCF$391 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $167.59
Levered DCF$430 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $167.59
At own 5y-median P/E (15×)$173
At 5y P/E range (10–16×)$119 – $189
At sector P/E (22×)$252

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.