Aerospace and Defense
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Embraer Regains Altitude With Boeing Alliance
By Tony Daltorio - June 29, 2012 | Tickers: AAMRQ.PK, ERJ, LMT, BA
The sigh of relief from Embraer SA ADR (NYSE: ERJ) management was audible all the way from Brazil. Finally, the company had some good news coming from the United States instead of the recent strings of disappointments. In a major announcement, Embraer said that it has entered a cooperation agreement with Boeing (NYSE: BA) in developing a new midsize military transport and refueling aircraft, the KC-390.
This deal is all more »
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Defense Companies Under Fire
By Tony Daltorio - June 25, 2012 | Tickers: KBR, LMT, MANT, NOC
As many investors in the sector already know, military spending cutbacks loom over the defense industry. Pentagon spending going forward may be slashed by up to $500 billion. That is why the largest defense contractors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon spent a combined $33.4 million on lobbying in the nation's capital last year, hoping to pare the cuts. And defense company spending on Washington lobbying more »
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Big Dividend Defense with Rocket Potential
By Dave Zaegel - June 20, 2012 | Tickers: INTC, LMT
Volatility. Uncertainty. Austerity. These are just some of words to describe the current investing environment. One of the ways to successfully navigate this terrain is to find companies with large dividends and relatively stable and consistent business models. For this, we turn to Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), a security and aerospace company with a long history of consistency and growth.
Valuation and Dividend Protection
Lockheed Martin currently has a P more »
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Sidestepping Value Traps
By Justin Carley - June 18, 2012 | Tickers: HPQ, MPC, RTN, VLO
Most investors are well aware of the fact that valuation is the primary determinant in long-term total return expectations. Therefore, many investors often gravitate toward stocks with cheap valuation in anticipation that this single factor will lead to outperformance. Unfortunately, many stocks have cheap valuation ratios, but their prices continue to fall or stay stagnant for years on end. The reason this happens is because earnings remain range-bound or even fall. Ah, the dreaded value trap. The best catalyst for a cheap stock is earnings growth! Below are a couple cheap stocks that have seen the average analyst estimates start to move higher in recent weeks. On top of that, they all pay a nice healthy dividend to line your pockets just in case there is a little trouble getting out of the starting gate.
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How to Play Defense with a Good Offense
By Matthew DiLallo - April 30, 2012 | Tickers: AVAV, GD, IRBT, LMT, NOC |
Given the cuts to defense spending and the wind down of the two wars on terror, the defense industry has come under a lot of pressure lately. When you look at the traditional defense contractors out there, the value investor might start to salivate given the ridiculously cheap price to earnings multiple of each company.
One look at the who’s who of defense contractors and you can see what more »
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Boeing Got the Order, But Lockheed’s Still The Better Option
By Tim Brugger - February 14, 2012 | Tickers: ERJ, LMT, NOC, BA
Boeing’s recent order from Indonesia’s Lion Air for 230 planes puts a cap on what has been a pretty amazing three months. An $18 billion order from Emirates Airlines was quickly followed by an even bigger $19 billion deal with Southwest Airlines toward the end of last year. And now Boeing (NYSE: BA) has topped them all with the $22.4 billion contract with Lion. The race for more »
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Welcome to the Cyberwar Front
By Tony Daltorio - February 1, 2012 | Tickers: CACI, LMT, MANT, NOC, BA
The way wars are fought is changing rapidly.
From conflicts using hardware – planes, ships, tanks, guns and troops – wars in the future are more likely to be fought using computers and malicious software. In other words, cyber-warfare.
Companies involved in the defense business like Boeing (NYSE: BA), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and others are steadily shifting their business to fighting such a war. The move has been accelerated in the more »
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United Technologies Making All the Right Moves
By Tim Brugger - January 27, 2012 | Tickers: HEI, HON, UTX
After yesterday’s earnings announcement that United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) grew net income about 10% over Q4 2010, it wouldn’t have been surprising for investors to reward the conglomerate with a nice gain. Alas, it was not to be. After an ever-so-slight pop UTX has settled back to the same spot as before the announcement – the best value in what many consider to be a great sector for the more »
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Textron Taking Off
By Justin Carley - January 25, 2012 | Tickers: GD, TXT
Textron (NYSE: TXT) reported 4Q 2011 results and the stock took off to the tune of a 14% one-day advance. The stock is up 38% since I recommended it here on Dec. 8, 2011. There is still plenty of upside in the name and I would continue to recommend it to new investors. If history is a guide, the initial pop will likely be followed by a slow bleed up more »
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Waiting for Takeoff
By Justin Carley - January 25, 2012 | Tickers: GD, LMT, RTN
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) reported fourth quarter results this morning. The $1.68 in EPS was below the consensus estimates of $1.99 as a result of impairments in the Jet Aviation business. The core defense segment continues to perform admirably. For the year, revenues came in at $32.7 billion and EPS at $6.94, both a 1% advance over 2010. Free cash flow (operating cash flow less capex more »
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Boeing’s All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go
By Tim Brugger - January 25, 2012 | Tickers: GD, LMT, NOC, BA
It had to feel a little like getting all dressed up for the party, knowing you’re looking darn good, and then getting stood up. On a day Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced ridiculously good earnings, yet another monster plane order and record backlog, the stock is down. What’s a plane manufacturing company got to do to get some respect around here?
The Specs
By all accounts this was a more »
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Hedge Funds Dig into Lockheed Martin
By SumZero Research - January 23, 2012 | Tickers: GD, LMT, NOC, BA
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)
(The following write-up is an edited and abbreviated pitch pulled from the SumZero community.)
Recommended Action: Long
Current Price: $83.50 Target Price: $100.00
Source: Hedge Fund. New York, NY.The Opportunity
Lockheed Martin offers the opportunity to invest in an oligopoly business that:
- Derives 50%+ of operating income from long-term, recurring programs;
- Generates a 9% FCF yield, which is all spent on dividends and more »
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Defense Companies in Diversification Drive
By Tony Daltorio - January 17, 2012 | Tickers: GD, LMT, NOC
It's a fact of life right now for defense companies...military budgets are being cut here in the United States and worldwide, slashing their revenues.
This has led defense contractors off in a search for a way to cope with this new reality. In many cases, the path chosen by these firms is diversification away from military projects.
Last year saw General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) snap up Vangent, a more »
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The Harsh Reality: Boeing to Close Kansas Operations
By Tim Brugger - January 5, 2012 | Tickers: GD, LMT, NOC, BA
It was bound to happen. Defense budget cuts were eventually going to have a significant impact on Boeing employees, and that time is now. Yesterday’s closed door meeting with plant employees ended as expected, the plant will close entirely by 2013 costing 2,160 Jayhawks their jobs, with the work sent to other facilities. Though as many as 1,400 jobs will be created in Oklahoma, New Mexico and more »
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Lockheed Martin Faces Turbulence
By Tony Daltorio - January 2, 2012 | Tickers: LMT, NOC, UTX
The Japanese government recently confirmed its choice for its new air defense fighter to be the F-35 Lightning II. Japan said it would order 42 of these aircraft in a deal that could be worth $7 billion.
That sigh of relief investors heard after the deal announcement came from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), which is the lead contractor for the program. Its other U.S. partners include the likes of more »
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The Least Valuable Players: 5 Underpriced Stocks for 2012
By Robert Coleman - December 27, 2011 | Tickers: ADM, AVX, BAC, C, GLW, JPM, LLL
While the markets may have been cruel and unforgiving for many investors since 2008, the upshot is a golden opportunity for bargain hunters and value investors alike. The “Great Recession” is technically over, but by no means does that indicate that stocks have returned to their appropriate price levels, and anyone willing to put in the time and effort can sort through the securities haystack to find an underpriced needle more »
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Cost Basis Reporting-HII Spinoff from NOC
By Laurie Frederiksen - December 26, 2011 | Tickers: HII, NOC
If you purchased and sold any stock in 2011, you’re going to be seeing changes in the 1099 form you receive from your broker. New cost basis reporting rules have begun phasing in. Under the new rules, brokers are required to report cost basis information to the IRS.
When you have a sale, you get taxed on your capital gain or loss. This is the difference between your cost more »
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Embraer Faces Continued Turbulence
By Tony Daltorio - December 23, 2011 | Tickers: ERJ, GD, TXT
The world's third largest commercial aircraft producer and one of Brazil's top companies, Embraer SA ADR (NYSE: ERJ) is one of the few Latin American companies that has been able to compete successfully on a global scale.
Embraer has sold more than 5,000 aircraft operating in 92 countries. Annual revenues from its commercial and private jet sales alone total roughly $4 billion.
The company's stock hit more »
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The Humanist
By A-J Aronstein - December 22, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL, KO, LMT, PFE, BA
Why "The Humanist" on a finance site?
For one thing, books and stocks are what I know. I teach writing at the University of Chicago and did graduate work in English. But I've also been investing since I was a teenager and got a start working two summers in college on the floor of a hedge fund. The first stock I bought (in 1998, when my favorite book was more »
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Sprint: Upgrade to Buy Over Night?
By Thomas J Lavan III - December 21, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL, ATT, CLWR, F, S, VZ
In October Sprint (NYSE: S) CEO Dan Hesse placed a $20 billion wager on Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, agreeing to order over 30 million of the devices regardless of Sprint’s ability to sell them. At the time, the odds of this seemingly outlandish bet paying off were a shot in the dark. Monday’s news that AT&T (NYSE: ATT), underneath an onslaught of government opposition, would drop more »