Sectors & IndustriesIndustrialsAerospace & Defense

Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top defense stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best defense stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best defense stocks to buy right now are:

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) is the #1 top defense stock out of 93 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 9 points higher than the defense industry average of 34.

SWBI passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Smith & Wesson Brands has seen its stock return 45.1% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 54 percentage points.

Smith & Wesson Brands has an average 1 year price target of $16.50, an upside of 14.98% from Smith & Wesson Brands's current stock price of $14.35.

Smith & Wesson Brands stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Smith & Wesson Brands, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) is the #2 top defense stock out of 93 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) has a Due Diligence Score of 58, which is 24 points higher than the defense industry average of 34.

MOG.A passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Moog has seen its stock return 67.8% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 77 percentage points.

Moog has an average 1 year price target of $445.67, an upside of 30.42% from Moog's current stock price of $341.71.

Moog stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Moog, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 25% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) is the #3 top defense stock out of 93 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) has a Due Diligence Score of 42, which is 8 points higher than the defense industry average of 34.

RGR passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Sturm Ruger & Co has seen its stock return 5.85% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 15 percentage points.

Out of 24 defense stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 defense stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) has an annual dividend yield of 3.62%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.07%. Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout ratio of 94.5% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has an annual dividend yield of 2.34%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.07%. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Lockheed Martin's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio of 48.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) has an annual dividend yield of 1.95%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.07%. Park Aerospace's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Park Aerospace's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Park Aerospace's dividend payout ratio of 69.4% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Defense stocks were down -0.62% in the last day, and down -0.51% over the last week. Hexcel was the among the top losers in the aerospace & defense industry, dropping -9.54% yesterday.

Hexcel shares are trading lower after the company reported mixed Q3 financial results and affirmed its FY26 adjusted EPS guidance with its midpoint below estimates.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued defense stocks right now are:

Textron (NYSE:TXT) is the most undervalued defense stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Textron has a valuation score of 43, which is 25 points higher than the defense industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Textron's stock has dropped -5.5% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 4 percentage points.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) is the second most undervalued defense stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

V2x has a valuation score of 43, which is 25 points higher than the defense industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

V2x's stock has gained 26.07% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 35 percentage points.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is the third most undervalued defense stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Lockheed Martin has a valuation score of 14, which is -4 points higher than the defense industry average of 18. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates LMT a Valuation Rating of "B".

Lockheed Martin's stock has gained 21.1% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 30 percentage points.

57.97% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 33.33% over the next year.

7.14% of defense stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 14.29% of defense stocks are rated B (Buy), 46.43% are rated C (Hold), 25% are rated D (Sell), and 7.14% are rated F (Strong Sell).