The GovCon Index soared 1.396 percent to 77.998 Wednesday on a series of pre-market earnings reports from several large defense prime contractors as Boeing (NYSE: BA) overcame an early morning decline to close in positive.
GovCon Wire posted a summary of all six GovCon Index-related earnings figures plus that of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) released before U.S. financial markets opened.
Boeing ended Wednesday respectively as the Index’s third-biggest net and fourth-largest percentage gainer despite the airplane manufacturer’s first-quarter earnings report that fell short of analyst expectations as both revenue showed an overall increase and full-year guidance was left unchanged.
Investors also cheered Boeing’s $483 million free cash flow figure for the first quarter, which Reuters reported was above analyst forecasts.
First-quarter earnings missed Wall Street forecasts on charges to the company’s 747 program and KC-46 aerial refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force but total defense segment revenue grew 18.48 percent year-over-year and increased its share in overall sales by 5 percent from the same period in 2015.
L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) led GCI net gainers and was second in percentage after the New York City-based defense contractor topped analysts’ first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates and reported a 3.2-percent increase in operating margin.
L-3 raised its full-year outlook for earnings per share with revenue guidance left unchanged.
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) – second in GCI net change gainers and third in percentage — also exceeded Wall Street’s forecasts for both figures, as did Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) and the Reston, Virginia-based government services contractor Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS).
L-3 and Northrop both hit new 52-week highs in intraday trade, plus Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) one day after both an earnings report that topped analyst expectations and a forecast lift, as well as Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) with the missile maker due to report first-quarter results Thursday morning.
Leidos ended Wednesday as the GCI’s largest net- and percentage-decliner at $1.20, or 2.31Â percent.
Montreal-headquartered technology services company CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) fell 1.32 percent after a first-quarter earnings miss against Wall Street forecasts.
U.S. stocks except for technology held positive after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and said in its policy statement it expects “only gradual increases, ” according to CNBC.
The S&P 500 technology sector plunged 0.8 percent and helped drag the Nasdaq composite index to its first five-day streak of declines since January, while telecommunications and energy shares were the leading gainers, CNBC reported.
Crude oil futures in New York climbed 2.93 percent to $45.33 a barrel.
Top GovCon Index Net Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▴ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLL | L-3 Communications* | 130.88 | +6.06 | +4.85% |
| GD | General Dynamics* | 143.61 | +4.90 | +3.53% |
| BA | Boeing* | 137.08 | +3.84 | +2.88% |
| NOC | Northrop Grumman* | 207.00 | +3.43 | +1.68% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 146.42 | +2.04 | +1.41% |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Top GovCon Index Percentage Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▴ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAV | Navistar International | 15.06 | +0.86 | +6.06% |
| LLL | L-3 Communications* | 130.88 | +6.06 | +4.85% |
| GD | General Dynamics* | 143.61 | +4.90 | +3.53% |
| BA | Boeing* | 137.08 | +3.84 | +2.88% |
| ACM | AECOM | 33.00 | +0.90 | +2.80% |
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 24 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 6 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 77.998 | +1.074 | +1.396% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 095.15 | +3.45 | +0.16% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 990.09 | +51.23 | +0.28% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 863.14 | -25.14 | -0.51% |
