Sectors & Industries IndustrialsAerospace & Defense
Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now (2023)
Top defense stocks in 2023 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	Price	Price Target	Upside/Downside	Consensus	Analysts	Fore. Revenue Growth	Fore. Earnings Growth	Forecast ROE	Forecast ROA
NOC	NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP	$69.68B	$455.25	$492.20	8.12%	Buy	10	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CODA	CODA OCTOPUS GROUP INC	$74.39M	$6.75	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
DRS	LEONARDO DRS INC	N/A	$12.85	$16.67	29.70%	Strong Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
HII	HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES INC	$7.97B	$200.03	$244.20	22.08%	Hold	6	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
GD	GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP	$61.34B	$223.50	$252.80	13.11%	Strong Buy	5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AXON	AXON ENTERPRISE INC	$15.78B	$216.58	$223.44	3.17%	Buy	9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
RGR	STURM RUGER & CO INC	$969.22M	$55.08	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SWBI	SMITH & WESSON BRANDS INC	$519.57M	$11.32	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
LMT	LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP	$121.15B	$474.54	$474.40	-0.03%	Hold	11	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
PKE	PARK AEROSPACE CORP	$256.30M	$12.52	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TXT	TEXTRON INC	$13.90B	$67.74	$88.50	30.65%	Strong Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
PL	PLANET LABS PBC	$957.81M	$3.52	$6.50	84.66%	Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
LHX	L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC	$36.71B	$193.13	$248.89	28.87%	Buy	12	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ASTC	ASTROTECH CORP	$18.77M	$11.09	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AIR	AAR CORP	$1.90B	$54.65	$57.67	5.52%	Strong Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
HEI	HEICO CORP	$22.69B	$165.75	$184.33	11.21%	Buy	7	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
RTX	RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORP	$141.28B	$96.44	$106.75	10.69%	Buy	9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
POWW	AMMO INC	$202.69M	$1.72	$3.00	74.42%	Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
VORB	VIRGIN ORBIT HOLDINGS INC	$269.61M	$0.80	$1.00	25.00%	Sell	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
DPRO	DRAGANFLY INC	$53.04M	$1.65	$3.50	112.12%	Buy	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
LILM	LILIUM NV	$198.37M	$0.67	$3.00	345.10%	Hold	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
VSEC	VSE CORP	$570.56M	$44.45	$56.00	25.98%	Strong Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
RKLB	ROCKET LAB USA INC	$1.88B	$3.93	$7.13	81.30%	Buy	4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
HXL	HEXCEL CORP	$5.69B	$67.48	$67.83	0.52%	Hold	7	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
KTOS	KRATOS DEFENSE & SECURITY SOLUTIONS INC	$1.68B	$13.29	$13.13	-1.24%	Buy	4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
VTSI	VIRTRA INC	$41.30M	$3.79	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UAVS	AGEAGLE AERIAL SYSTEMS INC	$33.03M	$0.38	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
IVAC	INTEVAC INC	$185.75M	$7.20	$9.00	25.00%	Strong Buy	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ISSC	INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS & SUPPORT INC	$132.58M	$7.62	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ESLT	ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD	$7.82B	$176.40	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
NPK	NATIONAL PRESTO INDUSTRIES INC	$500.13M	$70.79	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
KAMN	KAMAN CORP	$602.70M	$21.50	N/A	N/A	Hold	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
BYRN	BYRNA TECHNOLOGIES INC	$170.99M	$7.82	$15.50	98.21%	Strong Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MOG.A	MOOG INC	$3.10B	$97.36	$110.00	12.98%	Sell	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
WWD	WOODWARD INC	$5.43B	$90.83	$113.80	25.29%	Buy	6	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ASTR	ASTRA SPACE INC	$113.14M	$0.42	$1.00	136.41%	Hold	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MOB	MOBILICOM LTD	$6.82M	$1.28	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
BWXT	BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC	$5.59B	$61.26	$68.50	11.82%	Strong Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SPCE	VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC	$1.15B	$4.10	$4.25	3.66%	Sell	4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TGI	TRIUMPH GROUP INC	$678.06M	$10.43	$10.67	2.27%	Hold	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MRCY	MERCURY SYSTEMS INC	$2.85B	$49.00	$56.33	14.97%	Hold	4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ATRO	ASTRONICS CORP	$409.67M	$12.69	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ACHR	ARCHER AVIATION INC	$623.35M	$2.52	$6.83	171.15%	Strong Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
EVEX	EVE HOLDING INC	$1.68B	$6.23	$7.50	20.39%	Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MNTS	MOMENTUS INC	$58.79M	$0.63	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TDG	TRANSDIGM GROUP INC	$38.43B	$703.89	$765.11	8.70%	Buy	9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AVAV	AEROVIRONMENT INC	$2.28B	$90.06	$111.67	23.99%	Strong Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CDRE	CADRE HOLDINGS INC	$702.59M	$18.82	$31.67	68.26%	Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
DCO	DUCOMMUN INC	$639.39M	$52.64	$60.00	13.98%	Buy	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AIRI	AIR INDUSTRIES GROUP	$11.76M	$3.62	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TATT	TAT TECHNOLOGIES LTD	$50.39M	$5.50	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
VVX	V2X INC	$1.19B	$38.46	$57.50	49.51%	Strong Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SIDU	SIDUS SPACE INC	$21.83M	$0.62	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ERJ	EMBRAER SA	$2.84B	$15.48	$17.90	15.63%	Strong Buy	5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
LLAP	TERRAN ORBITAL CORP	$229.39M	$1.59	$13.00	717.61%	Strong Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AJRD	AEROJET ROCKETDYNE HOLDINGS INC	$4.49B	$55.60	$58.00	4.32%	Hold	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SPR	SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC	$3.23B	$30.67	$37.44	22.09%	Buy	10	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
EVTL	VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD	$364.16M	$1.70	$4.50	164.71%	Sell	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
EH	EHANG HOLDINGS LTD	$554.43M	$9.62	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CAE	CAE INC	$6.71B	$21.10	$24.00	13.74%	Strong Buy	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SIF	SIFCO INDUSTRIES INC	$16.47M	$2.70	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
BA	BOEING CO	$118.17B	$197.53	$218.50	10.62%	Buy	10	15.60%	N/A	-30.17%	3.50%
CVU	CPI AEROSTRUCTURES INC	$45.08M	$3.64	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SKYH	SKY HARBOUR GROUP CORP	$492.68M	$8.62	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
RDW	REDWIRE CORP	$176.87M	$2.77	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AZ	A2Z SMART TECHNOLOGIES CORP	$29.75M	$1.09	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
NXT	NEXTRACKER INC	$4.42B	$31.20	$39.78	27.49%	Strong Buy	9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AWIN	AERWINS TECHNOLOGIES INC	$46.99M	$0.83	$2.00	140.96%	Strong Buy	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
LUNR	INTUITIVE MACHINES INC	$323.70M	$10.79	$23.00	113.16%	Strong Buy	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Defense Stocks FAQ

What are the best defense stocks to buy right now in Mar 2023?

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

1. Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) is the top defense stock with a Zen Score of 48, which is 23 points higher than the defense industry average of 25. It passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Northrop Grumman has seen its stock return 0.15% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 5 percentage points.

Northrop Grumman has an average 1 year price target of $492.20, an upside of 8.12% from Northrop Grumman's current stock price of $455.25.

Northrop Grumman stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Northrop Grumman, 20% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 30% have issued a Buy, 40% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 10% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA)

Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) is the second best defense stock with a Zen Score of 46, which is 21 points higher than the defense industry average of 25. It passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Coda Octopus Group has seen its stock lose -3.23% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 2 percentage points.

3. Leonardo Drs (NASDAQ:DRS)

Leonardo Drs (NASDAQ:DRS) is the third best defense stock with a Zen Score of 45, which is 20 points higher than the defense industry average of 25. It passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals.

Leonardo Drs has an average 1 year price target of $16.67, an upside of 29.7% from Leonardo Drs's current stock price of $12.85.

Leonardo Drs stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Leonardo Drs, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 0% 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 19 defense stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 defense stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR)

Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) has an annual dividend yield of 12.67%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 2.81%. Sturm Ruger & Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% fourteen times in the last 10 years. Sturm Ruger & Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Sturm Ruger & Co's dividend payout ratio of 148.4% 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 11.18%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 2.81%. 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 105.3% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

3. National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK)

National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) has an annual dividend yield of 5.65%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 2.81%. National Presto Industries's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. National Presto Industries's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

National Presto Industries's dividend payout ratio of 137% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are defense stocks up?

Defense stocks were up 0.95% in the last day, and up 1.48% over the last week. Virgin Orbit Holdings was the among the top gainers in the aerospace & defense industry, gaining 50.09% yesterday.

Virgin Orbit shares are trading higher. Strength may be related to a recent report stating the company is in talks with interested parties about an investment in the company.

What are the most undervalued defense stocks?

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

1. Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI)

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) is the most undervalued defense stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Smith & Wesson Brands has a valuation score of 86, which is 63 points higher than the defense industry average of 23. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Smith & Wesson Brands's stock has dropped -29.07% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -24 percentage points.

2. Lilium Nv (NASDAQ:LILM)

Lilium Nv (NASDAQ:LILM) is the second most undervalued defense stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Lilium Nv has a valuation score of 71, which is 48 points higher than the defense industry average of 23. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Lilium Nv's stock has dropped -83.32% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -78 percentage points.

3. Astra Space (NASDAQ:ASTR)

Astra Space (NASDAQ:ASTR) is the third most undervalued defense stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Astra Space has a valuation score of 71, which is 48 points higher than the defense industry average of 23. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Astra Space's stock has dropped -89.95% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -85 percentage points.

Are defense stocks a good buy now?

36.17% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 13.13% 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 15.64x.

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.