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

Ticker	Company	Country	Market Cap	Shares	Institutional %	Insider %	Net Insider (L12M)	Net Insider (L3M)
VTSI	VIRTRA INC	United States	$136.43M	11,109,730	12.59%	87.41%	Net Selling	Net Buying
LHX	L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC	United States	$39.49B	190,107,856	84.71%	1.27%	Net Selling	Net Selling
GD	GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP	United States	$77.13B	274,364,084	86.09%	5.23%	Net Selling	Net Selling
HII	HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES INC	United States	$10.92B	39,590,687	90.33%	4.01%	Net Buying	Net Buying
NOC	NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP	United States	$71.20B	150,035,705	83.41%	4.28%	Net Selling	Net Selling
LMT	LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP	United States	$110.17B	239,938,144	74.35%	0.39%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ISSC	INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS & SUPPORT INC	United States	$115.76M	17,459,983	22.44%	59.66%	Net Selling
CVU	CPI AEROSTRUCTURES INC	United States	$35.09M	12,854,428	5.58%	94.42%	Net Buying
CW	CURTISS WRIGHT CORP	United States	$9.65B	38,213,391	82.38%	2.07%	Net Buying	Net Buying
WWD	WOODWARD INC	United States	$9.02B	60,298,456	81.03%	6.94%	Net Buying	Net Buying
OPXS	OPTEX SYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC	United States	$49.20M	6,823,693	7.25%	50.55%	Net Selling	Net Selling
NPK	NATIONAL PRESTO INDUSTRIES INC	United States	$593.53M	7,117,465	58.11%	24.88%	Net Selling	Net Selling
AXON	AXON ENTERPRISE INC	United States	$22.77B	75,302,832	78.53%	9.30%	Net Selling	Net Selling
MOG.A	MOOG INC	United States	$5.06B	31,956,313	88.43%	3.78%	Net Selling	Net Buying
ESLT	ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD	Israel	$9.03B	44,453,850	17.78%	0.00%
PKE	PARK AEROSPACE CORP	United States	$309.27M	20,253,361	77.63%	10.70%
HXL	HEXCEL CORP	United States	$5.26B	83,114,360	74.74%	25.26%	Net Selling	Net Selling
TXT	TEXTRON INC	United States	$18.13B	192,853,981	85.67%	1.48%	Net Selling	Net Selling
PL	PLANET LABS PBC	United States	$528.93M	290,620,185	41.26%	15.06%	Net Selling	Net Selling
VSEC	VSE CORP	United States	$1.24B	15,769,077	79.23%	20.77%	Net Selling	Net Selling
EH	EHANG HOLDINGS LTD	China	$1.11B	127,011,481	8.58%	0.00%
BWXT	BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC	United States	$8.60B	91,309,389	87.40%	12.60%	Net Selling	Net Selling
BYRN	BYRNA TECHNOLOGIES INC	United States	$292.62M	22,736,497	25.00%	37.76%	Net Buying	Net Selling
ERJ	EMBRAER SA	Brazil	$4.49B	734,632,806	9.12%	0.00%
SPCE	VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC	United States	$348.03M	400,040,013	38.81%	32.72%	Net Selling	Net Selling
RTX	RTX CORP	United States	$134.31B	1,329,506,013	86.42%	0.42%	Net Buying	Net Buying
RGR	STURM RUGER & CO INC	United States	$819.97M	17,664,200	63.83%	28.70%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ASTC	ASTROTECH CORP	United States	$15.68M	1,701,729	1.26%	98.74%	Net Buying	Net Buying
TATT	TAT TECHNOLOGIES LTD	Israel	$116.79M	10,102,612	8.15%	0.00%
SWBI	SMITH & WESSON BRANDS INC	United States	$776.74M	45,516,776	60.06%	39.80%	Net Selling	Net Selling
HWM	HOWMET AEROSPACE INC	United States	$26.55B	410,303,651	83.64%	16.36%	Net Selling	Net Selling
DRS	LEONARDO DRS INC	United States	$5.65B	262,629,912	15.16%	84.84%	Net Selling	Net Selling
RKLB	ROCKET LAB USA INC	United States	$1.80B	489,140,411	55.56%	32.27%	Net Selling	Net Selling
KTOS	KRATOS DEFENSE & SECURITY SOLUTIONS INC	United States	$2.31B	129,997,441	71.19%	28.81%	Net Selling	Net Selling
AIR	AAR CORP	United States	$2.41B	35,427,056	89.90%	10.10%	Net Buying	Net Selling
CODA	CODA OCTOPUS GROUP INC	United States	$77.09M	11,172,683	3.47%	96.53%	Net Selling
CAE	CAE INC	Canada	$6.09B	318,302,308	67.15%	0.00%
CDRE	CADRE HOLDINGS INC	United States	$1.26B	37,587,436	25.47%	74.53%	Net Selling	Net Selling
HEI	HEICO CORP	United States	$28.33B	138,364,365	79.09%	4.45%	Net Buying	Net Buying
RDW	REDWIRE CORP	United States	$251.17M	65,578,724	5.69%	94.31%	Net Selling
POWW	AMMO INC	United States	$303.77M	118,660,984	26.37%	31.25%	Net Selling	Net Selling
TDG	TRANSDIGM GROUP INC	United States	$69.04B	55,606,261	17.90%	82.10%	Net Selling	Net Selling
LUNR	INTUITIVE MACHINES INC	United States	$664.84M	121,989,071	2.73%	17.95%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ATRO	ASTRONICS CORP	United States	$568.22M	34,521,519	56.68%	35.92%	Net Selling	Net Selling
AVAV	AEROVIRONMENT INC	United States	$4.45B	28,135,734	68.21%	31.79%	Net Buying	Net Selling
KWE	KWESST MICRO SYSTEMS INC	Canada	$4.12M	5,616,782	19.19%	0.00%
DPRO	DRAGANFLY INC	Canada	$13.78M	49,229,563	10.41%	0.00%
MRCY	MERCURY SYSTEMS INC	United States	$1.69B	59,365,980	73.44%	26.56%	Net Buying	Net Buying
SPR	SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC	United States	$3.66B	116,053,453	92.89%	3.14%	Net Selling	Net Selling
BA	BOEING CO	United States	$100.88B	613,884,224	64.46%	1.33%	Net Selling	Net Selling
DCO	DUCOMMUN INC	United States	$791.35M	14,641,154	86.85%	9.96%	Net Selling	Net Selling
AULT	AULT ALLIANCE INC	United States	$8.99M	30,065,399	3.85%	64.46%	Net Buying
LLAP	TERRAN ORBITAL CORP	United States	$263.66M	201,270,799	35.76%	49.56%	Net Selling
SATL	SATELLOGIC INC	United States	$110.17M	90,303,985	21.04%	0.66%
SKYH	SKY HARBOUR GROUP CORP	United States	$596.46M	66,421,478	12.57%	87.43%
SPPL	SIMPPLE LTD	Singapore	N/A	16,088,661	0.01%	0.00%
MNTS	MOMENTUS INC	United States	$2.86M	6,562,221	4.59%	95.41%	Net Selling	Net Selling
VVX	V2X INC	United States	$1.57B	31,325,760	43.96%	56.04%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ZOOZ	ZOOZ POWER LTD	Israel	$34.32M	11,554,246	18.98%	29.13%
ACHR	ARCHER AVIATION INC	United States	$1.23B	310,574,786	39.64%	28.69%	Net Buying	Net Buying
TGI	TRIUMPH GROUP INC	United States	$1.03B	76,866,074	92.22%	7.78%	Net Selling	Net Buying
SIDU	SIDUS SPACE INC	United States	$14.47M	4,181,344	0.64%	99.36%	Net Buying
EVEX	EVE HOLDING INC	United States	$1.34B	269,365,708	1.46%	91.84%	Net Buying	Net Buying
AIRI	AIR INDUSTRIES GROUP	United States	$16.41M	3,315,368	2.01%	97.99%	Net Buying
AZ	A2Z SMART TECHNOLOGIES CORP	Canada	$18.05M	38,399,440	4.48%	0.00%
SIF	SIFCO INDUSTRIES INC	United States	$19.10M	6,159,987	16.65%	55.39%
ASTR	ASTRA SPACE INC	United States	$14.60M	22,711,034	3.16%	96.84%	Net Selling	Net Selling
KITT	NAUTICUS ROBOTICS INC	United States	$11.86M	62,089,911	2.53%	93.38%	Net Selling	Net Selling
HOVR	NEW HORIZON AIRCRAFT LTD	Canada	$43.00M	18,220,436	31.17%	57.68%
LILM	LILIUM NV	Germany	$474.45M	526,579,207	3.73%	0.00%
EVTL	VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD	United Kingdom	$170.58M	221,249,244	1.02%	1.86%

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 130.83% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 124 percentage points.

Virtra has an average 1 year price target of $16.00, an upside of 30.29% from Virtra's current stock price of $12.28.

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 2.76% 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 14.39% from L3harris Technologies's current stock price of $207.71.

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. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) is the third best defense stock with a Zen Score of 52, which is 23 points higher than the defense industry average of 29. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. General Dynamics has seen its stock return 25.22% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 19 percentage points.

General Dynamics has an average 1 year price target of $304.25, an upside of 8.23% from General Dynamics's current stock price of $281.11.

General Dynamics stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering General Dynamics, 62.5% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 12.5% have issued a Buy, 25% 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 5.4%, 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 3.27%, 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. Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG)

Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG) has an annual dividend yield of 2.82%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.55%.

Transdigm Group's dividend payout ratio of 148.6% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are defense stocks down?

Defense stocks were down -0.32% in the last day, and up 1.93% over the last week. General Dynamics was the among the top losers in the aerospace & defense industry, dropping -3.97% yesterday.

General Dynamics shares are trading lower following worse-than-expected Q1 financial results.

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 50 points higher than the defense industry average of 21. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cpi Aerostructures's stock has dropped -24.79% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -31 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 50 points higher than the defense industry average of 21. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Innovative Solutions & Support's stock has dropped -1.04% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -7 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 50 points higher than the defense industry average of 21. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Virtra's stock has gained 130.83% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 124 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 7.84% 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 23.99x.

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.