Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index traded higher Tuesday against choppy trade in the larger U.S. stock market as defense-oriented investors prepare to examine a large batch of earnings reports from major sector players due Wednesday.
The GovCon Index notched a gain of 0.473 points to 82.151 and eight of the GCI’s 11 S&P 500-listed companies closed in positive territory as the latter U.S. stock index held flat on declines by telecommunications and utilities shares in afternoon trade to offset advances in materials.
Wednesday’s pre-market second quarter earnings reports for GovCon Index companies include large defense primes Boeing (NYSE: BA), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC).
Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) will release results for its first fiscal year 2017 quarter before the open, while McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) will state first quarter earnings after the closing bell and ManTech International (Nasdaq: MANT) is also due to report second quarter financial figures post-close.
Wall Street analysts expect Boeing to post a net second quarter loss of 92 cents per share in a revision from the prior $2.25 forecast after the airplane maker said Thursday it would issue an after-tax writedown of $2.05 billion — or $3.23 EPS — on April-June results that includes $393 million from the Air Force KC-46 tanker program.
Boeing ended as the GCI’s second-highest net gainer, military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) was the top performer and third-listed Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS) reached a three-month high during morning trade.
Engility Holdings (NYSE: EGL) added 2.11 percent and is up 14.09 percent over two days since the government services contractor disclosed its intentions to refinance approximately $1.1 billion in net debt.
Los Angeles-based engineering services provider AECOM (NYSE: ACM) hit a new 52-week high in intraday trade Tuesday, while Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) fell 86 cents and ended as the GCI’s largest net decliner for a second consecutive session.
Investors also have their attention on the two-day Federal Reserve meeting scheduled to end Wednesday afternoon with a monetary policy statement and a summit later in the week for Japan’s central bank, CNBC reported.
Top GovCon Index Net Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▴ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 170.82 | 2.31 | 1.37% |
| BA | Boeing * | 134.85 | 1.91 | 1.44% |
| LDOS | Leidos Holdings | 51.94 | 1.28 | 2.53% |
| CACI | CACI International | 96.82 | 1.10 | 1.15% |
| CUB | Cubic Corp. | 41.27 | 0.98 | 2.43% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▴ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAV | Navistar International | 13.09 | 0.65 | 5.23% |
| CSRA | CSRA * | 26.60 | 0.69 | 2.66% |
| LDOS | Leidos Holdings | 51.94 | 1.28 | 2.53% |
| ACM | AECOM | 35.86 | 0.86 | 2.46% |
| CUB | Cubic Corp. | 41.27 | 0.98 | 2.43% |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 25 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 5 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 82.151 | +0.473 | +0.579% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 169.18 | +0.70 | +0.03% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 18, 473.75 | -19.31 | -0.10% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 110.05 | +12.42 | +0.24% |
