Top Defense Stocks

 

Some investors are opposed to purchasing stocks that benefit from the manufacture of weapons, and that’s completely understandable. If you fall into that category, then this post is probably not for you.

The defense industry is currently in a state of flux. On the one hand, there is a growing demand for defense products and services, as the world becomes increasingly unstable. On the other hand, there are also growing concerns about the cost of defense spending, and the need to reduce military budgets.

As a result, defense companies are facing a number of challenges. They need to find ways to reduce their costs, while also developing new products and services that meet the changing needs of the military. They also need to be prepared for the possibility of a decline in defense spending, and the need to diversify their businesses.

Despite these challenges, the defense industry is still a major economic force. In the United States, the defense industry employs over 2 million people and generates over $400 billion in annual revenue. The industry is also a major source of innovation and has been responsible for the development of many of the world’s most advanced technologies.

The future of the defense industry is uncertain, but it is likely to remain a major player in the global economy. The industry will need to adapt to the changing needs of the military and the growing concerns about the cost of defense spending. However, the industry also has a number of strengths, including its strong research and development capabilities, and its ability to adapt to new market conditions. As a result, the defense industry is likely to remain a major economic force for many years to come.

Here are some of the key trends that are shaping the defense industry today:

• The rise of new technologies. The defense industry is constantly evolving, as new technologies are developed. These technologies are changing the way that wars are fought, and they are also creating new opportunities for defense companies. For example, the development of drones and other unmanned systems is changing the way that the military conducts surveillance and strikes.
• The growing importance of cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important in the defense industry. As militaries become more reliant on digital systems, they are also becoming more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Defense companies are developing new technologies to protect military systems from cyberattacks.
• The need for greater international cooperation. The defense industry is becoming increasingly globalized. As militaries around the world face similar threats, they are increasingly working together to develop new technologies and share resources. This is creating new opportunities for defense companies that are able to operate in multiple markets.

The defense industry is a complex and ever-changing industry. However, it is also a major economic force that is likely to remain important for many years to come.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It is the world’s largest defense contractor by revenue for the past 43 years. Lockheed Martin is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide.

This $119 billion market cap company trades at 21 times trailing earnings and 17 times forward earnings. The long-term annual earnings per share growth estimate over the next five years is anticipated to be 10.9%. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.57%.

Raytheon Technologies (RTX) is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed in 2020 by the merger of Raytheon and United Technologies. Raytheon Technologies is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, and employs approximately 190,000 people worldwide.

The stock has a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 26 and a forward P/E of 17. Earnings per share this year grew by 35.9%, and long-term annual earnings per share growth estimate over the next five years is predicted to be 10.8%. The yield is 2.43%.

The Boeing Company (BA) is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. It is the world’s largest aerospace company by revenue for the past 26 years. Boeing is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and employs approximately 160,000 people worldwide.

The company has been generating negative earnings but has a forward P/E of 41. The stock does not pay a dividend.

General Dynamics (GD) is an American multinational defense, information technology, and aerospace company that is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. General Dynamics is the world’s fifth-largest defense contractor by revenue. The company employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide.

The stock trades at 18 times trailing earnings and 15 times forward earnings. The long-term annual earnings per share growth estimate over the next five years is predicted to be 10.8%. The yield is 2.43%.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is an American global aerospace and defense technology company with worldwide interests. It is the world’s sixth-largest defense contractor by revenue. Northrop Grumman is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, and employs approximately 90,000 people worldwide.

The stock trades at 15 times trailing earnings but 19 times forward earnings. The long-term annual earnings per share growth estimate over the next five years is expected to be only 1.9%. The stock pays a yield of 1.64%.

These companies are responsible for developing and manufacturing a wide range of defense products, including aircraft, ships, missiles, and weapons systems. They also provide a variety of services, such as maintenance, repair, and overhaul.

The defense industry is a major economic force, and it is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. This is due to a number of factors, including the increasing threats posed by terrorism and cyberwarfare, and the growing demand for new technologies.

Disclosure: The author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Defense and Aerospace Stocks

With the crash of the plane in Ukraine and the fighting going on in Gaza and Israel, investors are concerned about the possibility of an escalating war. The stock market dropped on Thursday but recovered on Friday. The VIX (VXX) which measures volatility, spiked 6% on Thursday.

Some of the defense and aerospace stocks have been moving during the last week, such as Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) which is up over 17% during the last week versus the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up less than 1%. Raytheon (RTN) was up 2% during the last week. According to the list of defense and aerospace stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are a dozen companies, with half paying dividends.

Northrop Grumman is a provider of aerospace products, electronics, and shipbuilding to the military, government, and commercial customers. The stock trades at 14 times trailing earnings, and 13 times forward earnings.  The stock sports a yield of 2.3%. Earnings were up 18.4% for the latest reported quarter, on a 4.2% drop in revenues.

Northrop Grumman - Earnings Surprise | FindTheBest

Raytheon has six divisions: Integrated Defense Systems, Intelligence and Information Systems, Missile Systems, Network Centric Systems, Space and Airborne Systems, and Technical Services. The stock has a price to earnings ratio of 15, a forward PE of 12, and pays a yield of 2.5%. Quarterly earnings were up 22% on a 6% reduction in revenues.

Raytheon Company - Earnings Surprise | FindTheBest

Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) manufactures military aircraft, and air vehicles, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F-22 air dominance attack aircraft, and the F-16 multi-role fighter. The stock has a PE of 16, a forward PE of 14, and pays a yield of 3.2%. Earnings were up 22.6% for the latest quarter.

Lockheed Martin Corporation - Earnings Surprise | FindTheBest

For a list of a dozen defense and aerospace stocks which has the symbol, PE, forward PE, yield, and country, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Will Drone Stocks Start Flying?

Have you seen the news on drones recently? First, there was the near miss between a done and a passenger jet. Then there was the LAPD's new air drone program controversy. Finally, there is now clothing you can wear to protect you from drones. By the way, drones are also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs.

So if you are an investor and want to use drone stocks to make you portfolio take off, you have over ten stocks to choose from involved with drones in some way, according to the free list of drone stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Several of them even pay dividends.

The company closest to a pure play in drones is AeroVironment (AVAV), which was founded in 1971. The company sells more small drones to the U. S. Government than any other company, which includes the Raven, the Wasp, and the Puma. AeroVironment is also involved in the production of electric and solar vehicles.

The stock trades at 152 times trailing earnings and 58 times forward earnings. For the quarter ending January 25, the company generated an incredible 190% increase in earnings on a 47% revenue boost. One of the best features about the company is that it is debt free with $7.51 in cash per share.

AeroVironment happens to have a strategic partnership with Lockheed Martin (LMT), another company involved in the production of drones, including the Stalker. Drones are obviously a small portion of their business. The company trades at 17 times training earnings and has a forward price to earnings ratio of 14. The stock also pays a dividend of 3.2%.

Other companies involved in drone production include Elbit Systems (ESLT), which makes the Hermes and Skylark families of UAVs, Boeing (BA) which makes the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye drone, and Northrop Grumman (NOC), producer of the Global Hawk drones.

For a list of the publicly traded drone stocks, which includes information on the PE ratio, the forward PE ratio, and the drone business, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.Maybe some of these stocks will be high flyers.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Will the Government Shutdown Be Good or Bad for the Economy?

It happened! Today, the United States government shutdown began. Did investors care? Not really; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 62 points and the NASDAQ was up 46.5 points.

So let's look at how the government shutdown might affect the economy. There are about 2.8 million non-uniformed employees of the Federal government, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Obviously, not all of these employees will stop working, as many of them are in jobs that are considered critical. Economists estimate that 600,000 to 800,000 workers will be furloughed.

These Fed workers are all across the US. They will cut back on spending, which can hurt local economies, and if the shutdown lasts long enough, they may not be able to pay their mortgages, which will cause more foreclosures and hurt the real estate market. Even state and local governments receive government funding, so they will be adversely affected.

Companies that do a lot of business with the Federal government will suffer. Although I'm sure the government will eventually be good for the money, if the shutdown drags on, it could affect the short term revenue results could be affected. Some of the largest government contractors include Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT), The Boeing Company (BA), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC), General Dynamics Corporation (GD), and Raytheon Company (RTN).

The travel industry may be slightly affected, especially in the areas of national parks, but instead of tourists traveling to Yosemite, they will go to Disneyland instead. So this could help stocks such as Disney (DIS), Cedar Fair LP (FUN), Six Flags (SIX), and SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS).


So what do you think? Will the shutdown be positive, negative, or no effect?

Disclosure: Author owns DIS.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fourth Week of August

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (SB) market cap: $511.1M ex div date: 8/22/2011 yield: 8.3%

Atkins plc (WATKF) ex div date: 8/24/2011 yield: 4.4%

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) market cap: $18.1B ex div date: 8/25/2011 yield: 3.1%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) market cap: $182.9B ex div date: 8/26/2011 yield: 3.4%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top Defense and Aerospace Stocks

Last month, we featured an article on anti-terrorism stocks. As a follow-up, we decided to review defense and aerospace companies. Owning a defense stock in your portfolio is a good way to protect your portfolio, similar to owning gold. Plus, the government will always spend money on defense no matter who is in office. In addition, many of these stocks pay decent yields according to the new list of defense stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Here are a few examples.

Embraer, also known as Empresa Brasileira De Aeronutica S.A. (ERJ) based in Brazil, makes and markets jets and aircraft for defense and civil aviation markets. The stock has a PE of 7.5, a PEG of 1.4, and pays a yield of 0.4%.

Boeing (BA) makes and markets jets, military aircraft, missile defense systems, satellites, and launch systems. The stock has a fairly high PE of 37, a PEG of 1.99, and pays a yield of 2.5%.

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) provides aerospace products, electronics, and shipbuilding to the military, government, and commercial customers. The stock has a PE of 10, a PEG of 0.97 , and pays a yield of 3.2%.

To see the entire list of the defense stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, to download the free Excel database, which includes six defense stocks with yields above 1.5%.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

A Thanksgiving Week for Dividends: Stocks Going Ex Dividend Next Week

It's time to give thanks for dividends. Next week is Thanksgiving week, and surprisingly there are a lot of stocks going ex dividend during those days. There is a stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends', which is becoming more and more popular. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets.

When you buy dividends, there are many stocks in many different sectors to choose from. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork has compiled a free downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. WSNN.com came up with many companies all with market caps over $500 million. Here are a couple examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the market capitalization, and the yield.

FPL Group, Inc. FPL ex div date: 11/24/2009 market cap: $21.4B yield: 3.6%

Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC ex div date: 11/25/2009 market cap: $15.9B yield: 3.5%

The Empire District Electric Company EDE ex div date: 11/27/2009 market cap: $626.7M yield: 7.0%

The rest of the ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. For more details on dividend definitions, check out definitions of dividend dates. Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Author doesn't own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com