Sectors & Industries IndustrialsAerospace & Defense
Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now (2024)
Top defense stocks in 2024 ranked by overall Zen Score. See the best defense stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the aerospace & defense industry.

Industry: Aerospace & Defense

Overview Zen Score Price Valuation Financials

Forecast Earnings & Revenue Dividends Ownership Technicals

Ticker	Company	Market Cap	ROE	ROA	ROCE	ROIC	D/E	Current Ratio	Gross Margin	Profit Margin	Operating Margin
VTSI	VIRTRA INC	$133.54M	21.40%	12.80%	18.97%	23.80%	0.63	3.11	70.10%	22.10%	26.87%
LHX	L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC	$39.42B	6.60%	3.20%	5.32%	11.50%	1.22	1.01	26.30%	6.30%	9.23%
HII	HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES INC	$10.93B	18.10%	6.30%	11.58%	13.50%	1.74	0.95	14.40%	5.90%	8.28%
NOC	NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP	$72.23B	14.30%	4.70%	8.77%	10.30%	2.36	1.13	16.70%	5.40%	7.58%
GD	GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP	$78.17B	16.50%	6.30%	11.46%	18.60%	1.58	1.44	15.80%	7.80%	10.22%
LMT	LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP	$111.52B	84.70%	12.30%	23.91%	22.30%	7.27	1.30	12.10%	9.70%	12.79%
CW	CURTISS WRIGHT CORP	$9.69B	16.30%	7.90%	13.49%	19.70%	0.99	2.13	37.50%	12.50%	18.08%
ISSC	INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS & SUPPORT INC	$111.92M	17.20%	11.70%	21.86%	24.30%	0.40	1.75	61.50%	17.00%	23.44%
CVU	CPI AEROSTRUCTURES INC	$34.84M	164.80%	26.90%	14.72%	11.70%	2.37	1.49	19.70%	19.90%	7.29%
OPXS	OPTEX SYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC	$48.38M	20.80%	13.70%	20.61%	18.20%	0.46	3.69	26.50%	10.20%	12.64%
NPK	NATIONAL PRESTO INDUSTRIES INC	$590.39M	10.10%	8.40%	11.51%	16.30%	0.24	5.00	19.80%	10.10%	12.45%
MOG.A	MOOG INC	$5.02B	10.60%	4.50%	9.59%	10.00%	1.34	2.10	27.00%	5.10%	8.36%
AXON	AXON ENTERPRISE INC	$23.06B	11.70%	5.50%	5.88%	5.70%	1.13	3.00	61.10%	11.10%	9.91%
WWD	WOODWARD INC	$9.03B	14.00%	7.20%	11.33%	14.40%	0.89	2.65	24.60%	9.50%	13.04%
HXL	HEXCEL CORP	$5.33B	6.00%	3.50%	5.56%	4.80%	0.73	2.74	23.50%	5.50%	7.81%
PKE	PARK AEROSPACE CORP	$296.71M	8.40%	6.90%	7.58%	8.30%	0.14	14.59	29.90%	17.90%	17.25%
TXT	TEXTRON INC	$16.19B	13.30%	5.60%	9.76%	10.00%	1.37	1.66	16.70%	6.70%	8.50%
ESLT	ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD	$8.89B	7.60%	2.20%	7.65%	6.90%	2.30	1.14	24.80%	3.60%	6.29%
PL	PLANET LABS PBC	$511.49M	-26.10%	-19.70%	-24.71%	-40.90%	0.36	2.71	51.20%	-63.70%	-63.30%
BWXT	BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC	$8.65B	28.60%	9.00%	15.51%	11.60%	1.94	2.18	24.90%	9.80%	14.74%
ERJ	EMBRAER SA	$4.59B	6.10%	1.60%	6.21%	7.20%	2.78	1.65	17.30%	3.10%	8.40%
EH	EHANG HOLDINGS LTD	$1.16B	-196.10%	-57.40%	-85.65%	-117.60%	1.80	1.81	64.10%	-256.90%	-254.26%
BYRN	BYRNA TECHNOLOGIES INC	$296.71M	-14.00%	-11.60%	-12.42%	-24.90%	0.22	4.66	55.10%	-11.80%	-10.83%
RTX	RTX CORP	$135.22B	5.30%	2.20%	4.57%	8.40%	1.62	1.07	17.00%	4.90%	7.42%
VSEC	VSE CORP	$1.21B	7.30%	3.30%	7.90%	8.50%	1.19	2.70	12.80%	4.50%	9.76%
SPCE	VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC	$344.03M	-102.70%	-43.40%	-49.20%	-46.90%	1.33	5.12	-643.20%	-7,387.30%	-7,191.35%
RGR	STURM RUGER & CO INC	$816.62M	14.60%	12.20%	17.59%	18.10%	0.20	4.30	24.60%	8.90%	10.86%
ASTC	ASTROTECH CORP	$15.99M	-23.60%	-22.20%	-25.29%	-33.00%	0.06	17.31	45.60%	-515.20%	-515.23%
HWM	HOWMET AEROSPACE INC	$26.59B	19.80%	7.50%	13.80%	15.80%	1.58	1.86	28.10%	11.50%	17.97%
SWBI	SMITH & WESSON BRANDS INC	$768.78M	6.90%	4.70%	7.28%	7.40%	0.52	3.21	27.50%	5.10%	6.76%
TATT	TAT TECHNOLOGIES LTD	$117.19M	5.70%	3.50%	6.52%	6.00%	0.61	2.40	19.70%	4.10%	6.09%
RKLB	ROCKET LAB USA INC	$1.79B	-30.50%	-18.90%	-24.33%	-31.90%	0.70	2.13	21.00%	-74.60%	-71.41%
KTOS	KRATOS DEFENSE & SECURITY SOLUTIONS INC	$2.25B	-0.90%	-0.60%	1.53%	2.20%	0.65	2.03	25.90%	-0.90%	1.98%
AIR	AAR CORP	$2.39B	5.30%	3.10%	6.53%	6.60%	0.73	2.90	19.10%	2.70%	4.69%
CAE	CAE INC	$5.97B	6.10%	2.70%	6.74%	7.30%	1.24	0.90	28.30%	6.20%	11.70%
CODA	CODA OCTOPUS GROUP INC	$77.26M	4.80%	4.50%	5.66%	13.50%	0.06	15.54	67.90%	12.90%	15.60%
HEI	HEICO CORP	$28.62B	14.00%	6.80%	9.47%	19.00%	1.12	3.17	38.70%	13.10%	19.65%
CDRE	CADRE HOLDINGS INC	$1.24B	21.00%	9.40%	17.10%	20.60%	1.19	2.58	41.60%	8.00%	11.91%
RDW	REDWIRE CORP	$252.48M	N/A	-18.70%	-10.71%	-15.20%	-5.02	0.98	23.80%	-19.40%	-6.99%
DRS	LEONARDO DRS INC	$5.62B	7.60%	4.50%	8.02%	13.70%	0.69	1.78	22.90%	5.90%	8.07%
POWW	AMMO INC	$300.21M	-4.40%	-4.00%	-4.15%	-12.30%	0.11	4.85	30.40%	-11.00%	-10.47%
TDG	TRANSDIGM GROUP INC	$69.87B	-50.10%	6.70%	16.34%	13.30%	-6.89	4.07	58.60%	19.40%	44.17%
LUNR	INTUITIVE MACHINES INC	$662.40M	-11.10%	62.90%	2,518.47%	-20,131.90%	-0.53	0.38	-26.30%	76.00%	80.06%
ATRO	ASTRONICS CORP	$556.49M	-11.10%	-4.20%	-0.61%	-0.60%	1.54	2.72	17.50%	-3.80%	-0.43%
AVAV	AEROVIRONMENT INC	$4.38B	-15.60%	-11.70%	-11.77%	-19.70%	0.21	4.66	39.20%	-15.10%	-14.55%
KWE	KWESST MICRO SYSTEMS INC	$3.99M	-164.50%	-67.10%	-144.77%	445.40%	1.51	1.11	-40.40%	-716.60%	-703.44%
MRCY	MERCURY SYSTEMS INC	$1.71B	-5.50%	-3.60%	-4.66%	-7.00%	0.62	4.36	26.80%	-9.50%	-11.51%
DPRO	DRAGANFLY INC	$13.05M	-328.20%	-190.00%	-2,544.30%	-1,179.40%	19.43	0.90	31.50%	-360.20%	-361.49%
SPR	SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC	$3.69B	N/A	-9.30%	-5.79%	-3.90%	-14.90	1.71	3.40%	-10.20%	-4.55%
BA	BOEING CO	$102.40B	N/A	-1.60%	1.24%	0.70%	-8.91	1.14	10.00%	-2.80%	0.67%
LLAP	TERRAN ORBITAL CORP	$277.75M	N/A	-86.00%	-155.55%	-51.30%	-2.40	1.01	6.30%	-111.70%	-76.01%
AULT	AULT ALLIANCE INC	$8.39M	-233.60%	-58.70%	-204.99%	-72.60%	5.37	0.68	19.90%	-148.60%	-123.64%
DCO	DUCOMMUN INC	$791.35M	2.60%	1.50%	3.96%	4.70%	0.76	2.99	21.60%	2.10%	4.91%
SATL	SATELLOGIC INC	$107.46M	-77.30%	-55.40%	-97.58%	-132.80%	0.48	1.24	49.80%	-605.70%	-532.64%
SKYH	SKY HARBOUR GROUP CORP	$595.80M	-48.00%	-4.60%	N/A	-3.00%	3.90	N/A	5.40%	-213.60%	-206.42%
VVX	V2X INC	$1.56B	-2.30%	-0.70%	4.37%	7.00%	2.11	1.04	8.40%	-0.60%	2.47%
SPPL	SIMPPLE LTD	N/A	N/A	-14.60%	-29.60%	-15.60%	17.05	1.09	55.30%	-12.10%	-8.26%
MNTS	MOMENTUS INC	$2.74M	-374.70%	-130.20%	-731.50%	-621.10%	6.80	0.92	76.80%	-3,625.80%	-3,475.80%
ACHR	ARCHER AVIATION INC	$1.24B	-129.20%	-88.00%	-107.61%	-3,956.60%	0.51	4.21	N/A	N/A	N/A
ZOOZ	ZOOZ POWER LTD	$32.58M	-1,160.60%	-19.80%	-130.57%	-20.20%	0.69	3.28	-156.50%	-1,769.60%	-1,728.38%
TGI	TRIUMPH GROUP INC	$1.03B	N/A	-3.20%	7.37%	4.40%	-3.50	2.66	27.30%	-3.90%	7.19%
SIDU	SIDUS SPACE INC	$13.92M	-172.20%	-81.50%	-177.56%	-157.80%	1.71	0.75	27.50%	-243.70%	-212.37%
EVEX	EVE HOLDING INC	$1.35B	-59.30%	-47.50%	-65.08%	-59.90%	0.49	4.66	N/A	N/A	N/A
LOAR	LOAR HOLDINGS INC	N/A	N/A	N/A	6.96%	N/A	1.51	3.32	48.60%	-1.50%	21.89%
AIRI	AIR INDUSTRIES GROUP	$15.95M	-13.60%	-4.10%	-0.88%	-0.40%	2.34	1.46	14.40%	-4.10%	-0.41%
SIF	SIFCO INDUSTRIES INC	$18.79M	-27.60%	-9.70%	-14.69%	-8.70%	2.25	0.99	8.10%	-11.00%	-9.08%
AZ	A2Z SMART TECHNOLOGIES CORP	$15.63M	-503.80%	-141.30%	-545.86%	-716.40%	4.35	0.84	17.50%	-141.20%	-138.54%
ASTR	ASTRA SPACE INC	$15.33M	-23,462.80%	-167.90%	324.49%	-761.40%	-2.03	0.24	53.20%	-4,604.40%	-4,511.02%
KITT	NAUTICUS ROBOTICS INC	$12.42M	N/A	-112.30%	-478.36%	-81.50%	-1.63	0.53	-80.60%	-767.20%	-634.39%
LILM	LILIUM NV	$468.66M	-323.50%	-129.50%	-496.34%	-2,023.80%	7.42	0.84	N/A	N/A	N/A
HOVR	NEW HORIZON AIRCRAFT LTD	$42.09M	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1.42	2.85	N/A	N/A	N/A
EVTL	VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD	$171.25M	N/A	-50.90%	-96.34%	-152.30%	-2.69	4.17	N/A	N/A	N/A

Defense Stocks FAQ

What are the best defense stocks to buy right now in Apr 2024?

According to Zen Score, the 3 best defense stocks to buy right now are:

1. Virtra (NASDAQ:VTSI)

Virtra (NASDAQ:VTSI) is the top defense stock with a Zen Score of 58, which is 29 points higher than the defense industry average of 29. It passed 19 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Virtra has seen its stock return 131.15% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 123 percentage points.

Virtra has an average 1 year price target of $16.00, an upside of 33.11% from Virtra's current stock price of $12.02.

Virtra stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Virtra, 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.

2. L3harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX)

L3harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) is the second best defense stock with a Zen Score of 53, which is 24 points higher than the defense industry average of 29. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. L3harris Technologies has seen its stock return 4.03% over the past year, underperforming other defense stocks by -4 percentage points.

L3harris Technologies has an average 1 year price target of $237.60, an upside of 14.58% from L3harris Technologies's current stock price of $207.36.

L3harris Technologies stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering L3harris Technologies, 60% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 30% have issued a Buy, 10% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

3. Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) is the third best defense stock with a Zen Score of 51, which is 22 points higher than the defense industry average of 29. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Huntington Ingalls Industries has seen its stock return 33.72% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 25 percentage points.

Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average 1 year price target of $292.50, an upside of 5.99% from Huntington Ingalls Industries's current stock price of $275.98.

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Huntington Ingalls Industries, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the defense stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 20 defense stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 defense stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK)

National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) has an annual dividend yield of 5.42%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.55%. National Presto Industries's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. National Presto Industries's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

National Presto Industries's dividend payout ratio of 92.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

2. Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE)

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) has an annual dividend yield of 3.41%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.55%. Park Aerospace's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three 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 319.1% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

3. Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI)

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) has an annual dividend yield of 2.84%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.55%.

Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout ratio of 80.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Why are defense stocks up?

Defense stocks were up 0.51% in the last day, and up 2.63% over the last week. Northrop Grumman was the among the top gainers in the aerospace & defense industry, gaining 2.84% yesterday.

Northrop Grumman shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 EPS and sales.

What are the most undervalued defense stocks?

Based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score, the 3 most undervalued defense stocks right now are:

1. Cpi Aerostructures (NYSEMKT:CVU)

Cpi Aerostructures (NYSEMKT:CVU) is the most undervalued defense stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Cpi Aerostructures has a valuation score of 71, which is 51 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cpi Aerostructures's stock has dropped -21.68% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -30 percentage points.

2. Innovative Solutions & Support (NASDAQ:ISSC)

Innovative Solutions & Support (NASDAQ:ISSC) is the second most undervalued defense stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Innovative Solutions & Support has a valuation score of 71, which is 51 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Innovative Solutions & Support's stock has gained 0.31% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -8 percentage points.

3. Virtra (NASDAQ:VTSI)

Virtra (NASDAQ:VTSI) is the third most undervalued defense stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Virtra has a valuation score of 71, which is 51 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Virtra's stock has gained 131.15% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 123 percentage points.

Are defense stocks a good buy now?

54.35% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 7.07% over the next year.

What is the average p/e ratio of the aerospace & defense industry?

The average P/E ratio of the aerospace & defense industry is 24x.

WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.