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 One of the most listened-to voices in business media singled out the defense sector and one of its biggest players as among the best performers during recent times in one of the choppiest periods in history for stock markets.
Jim Cramer of “Mad Money on CNBC†fame offered this take in response to a caller that inquired last night about Raytheon’s stock performance and future outlook:
“Raytheon is fantastic! The defense stocks are in a secular bull market. They’re not even cutting the budget here and look at the paper. Is there anyone that doesn’t want a Patriot missile? I mean I want Patriot missiles in my backyard and I like my neighbors!”
This is not the first time Cramer has given a positive outlook for defense stocks this year as he said in May that the sector was primed for gains on sales of weapons and other military equipment to U.S. allies in the midst of American defense spending reductions.
Through three quarters, Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index of 30 publicly-traded contractor stocks is up approximately 4 percent despite the third-quarter volatility that sent the Index briefly into a correction, or 10 percent off its 52-week high.
Northrop Grumman was the best percentage performer of the five largest U.S. defense contractor stocks at a gain of 13 percent to $165.95/share.
Lockheed Martin’s stock rose 7 percent to $207.31/share with Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon at relatively flat levels from Jan. 2.
We’ll have a clearer picture of the defense industry’s health and outlook later this month as these five companies and other contracting firms report their third quarter earnings.
GovCon Wire, Executive Mosaic’s home of financial journalism for the government contracting industry, will have all the facts and figures as they come in.
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