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7 Best Defense Dividend Stocks to Buy

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This article looks at the 7 Best Defense Dividend Stocks to Buy.

Military expenditure has soared this year, amid the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. The prospect of a war between the United States and Venezuela is also luring investors towards the sector.

The NYSE Arca Defense Index is up 41.96% year-to-date, as of the close of business on December 22, comfortably outpacing the S&P 500 Index, which has gained 17.21% during the period.

While traditional defense contractors have continued their gains, several small and mid-sized companies in the sector have also emerged as standout performers, given their expertise in affordable, next-generation military technology like AI-powered drones.

The trend has resulted in an increase in traditional contractors growing their capabilities to adapt to modern warfare through mergers and acquisitions of smaller firms in areas like artificial intelligence, communications, and cybersecurity.

Looking ahead to 2026, Morgan Stanley recently shared a bullish outlook for aerospace and defense stocks, amid rising demand that continues to beat supply.

The firm’s analyst Kristine Liwag believes that defense stocks in particular offer ‘good value’ since they are currently not reflecting the growth in the U.S. defense budget.

With that said, let’s now see some of the best dividend stocks to invest in from the defense sector.

Jordan Tan / Shutterstock.com

Methodology

For this article, we gathered a pool of defense stocks that have been paying dividends for at least 10 consecutive years, as of the close of business on December 22. We then shortlisted the top 7 companies that had the highest number of hedge fund investors having a stake in them, based on Insider Monkey’s database of prominent hedge funds as of Q3 2025. Finally, we ranked them in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding positions.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).

7 Best Defense Dividend Stocks to Buy:

7. Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36

Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) is among the 7 Best Defense Dividend Stocks to Buy. On December 11, Citigroup initiated coverage of the stock with a Neutral rating and announced a share price target of $91.

The global investment bank recently launched coverage on aerospace and defense stocks, while noting several ‘megatrends’ in the sector, which Citi believes could help at least one company reach the $1 trillion mark in market capitalization over the coming years.

As of the close of business on December 22, Wall Street analysts have a consensus Hold rating on the stock, with a one-year average share price target of $89.14, representing a slight downside potential of 2%.

Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) has been a consistent dividend payer for well over three decades, according to records on the company’s website. On October 22, it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per common stock, which is scheduled to be paid on January 1, 2026.

In other news, on December 17, the company announced it had sold a TSUNAMI autonomous vessel to the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific to support the naval needs of the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

This follows the sale of a 24-foot TSUNAMI vessel to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division back in May this year.

Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) manufactures products for consumers across several industries, through its six business segments: Bell, Textron Aviation, Textron eAviation, Textron Systems, Industrial, and Finance.

6. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) is among the 7 Best Defense Dividend Stocks to Buy. On December 12, Citigroup initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $376.

As of the close of business on December 22, Wall Street analysts have a consensus Moderate Buy rating on the stock, with a one-year average share price target of $331.33, representing a downside of 6%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) is considered to be a major dividend payer in the defense industry, with the shipbuilder having consistently increased its payout every year since 2013, according to information available on the company’s website. It has a dividend yield of 1.56% as of December 22.

In October, the defense contractor announced to increase its quarterly cash dividend by three cents to $1.38 per share. The amount was paid to shareholders on December 12, 2025.

In other news, on December 19, the company was chosen by the U.S. Navy to design and manufacture a new class of small surface combatant (SSC) ship. The stock market responded positively to the news, with shares surging 5% on Monday to close at $353.52.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) is an American defense company with expertise in shipbuilding.

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The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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AI, Tariffs, Nuclear Power: One Undervalued Stock Connects ALL the Dots (Before It Explodes!)

Artificial intelligence is the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. The time to invest in groundbreaking AI is now, and this stock is a steal!

AI is eating the world—and the machines behind it are ravenous.

Each ChatGPT query, each model update, each robotic breakthrough consumes massive amounts of energy. In fact, AI is already pushing global power grids to the brink.

Wall Street is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence—training smarter chatbots, automating industries, and building the digital future. But there’s one urgent question few are asking:

Where will all of that energy come from?

AI is the most electricity-hungry technology ever invented. Each data center powering large language models like ChatGPT consumes as much energy as a small city. And it’s about to get worse.

Even Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, issued a stark warning:

“The future of AI depends on an energy breakthrough.”

Elon Musk was even more blunt:

“AI will run out of electricity by next year.”

As the world chases faster, smarter machines, a hidden crisis is emerging behind the scenes. Power grids are strained. Electricity prices are rising. Utilities are scrambling to expand capacity.

And that’s where the real opportunity lies…

One little-known company—almost entirely overlooked by most AI investors—could be the ultimate backdoor play. It’s not a chipmaker. It’s not a cloud platform. But it might be the most important AI stock in the US owns critical energy infrastructure assets positioned to feed the coming AI energy spike.

As demand from AI data centers explodes, this company is gearing up to profit from the most valuable commodity in the digital age: electricity.

The “Toll Booth” Operator of the AI Energy Boom

  • It owns critical nuclear energy infrastructure assets, positioning it at the heart of America’s next-generation power strategy.
  • It’s one of the only global companies capable of executing large-scale, complex EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects across oil, gas, renewable fuels, and industrial infrastructure.
  • It plays a pivotal role in U.S. LNG exportation—a sector about to explode under President Trump’s renewed “America First” energy doctrine.

Trump has made it clear: Europe and U.S. allies must buy American LNG.

And our company sits in the toll booth—collecting fees on every drop exported.

But that’s not all…

As Trump’s proposed tariffs push American manufacturers to bring their operations back home, this company will be first in line to rebuild, retrofit, and reengineer those facilities.

AI. Energy. Tariffs. Onshoring. This One Company Ties It All Together.

While the world is distracted by flashy AI tickers, a few smart investors are quietly scooping up shares of the one company powering it all from behind the scenes.

AI needs energy. Energy needs infrastructure.

And infrastructure needs a builder with experience, scale, and execution.

This company has its finger in every pie—and Wall Street is just starting to notice.

Wall Street is noticing this company also because it is quietly riding all of these tailwinds—without the sky-high valuation.

While most energy and utility firms are buried under mountains of debt and coughing up hefty interest payments just to appease bondholders…

This company is completely debt-free.

In fact, it’s sitting on a war chest of cash—equal to nearly one-third of its entire market cap.

It also owns a huge equity stake in another red-hot AI play, giving investors indirect exposure to multiple AI growth engines without paying a premium.

And here’s what the smart money has started whispering…

The Hedge Fund Secret That’s Starting to Leak Out

This stock is so off-the-radar, so absurdly undervalued, that some of the most secretive hedge fund managers in the world have begun pitching it at closed-door investment summits.

They’re sharing it quietly, away from the cameras, to rooms full of ultra-wealthy clients.

Why? Because excluding cash and investments, this company is trading at less than 7 times earnings.

And that’s for a business tied to:

  • The AI infrastructure supercycle
  • The onshoring boom driven by Trump-era tariffs
  • A surge in U.S. LNG exports
  • And a unique footprint in nuclear energy—the future of clean, reliable power

You simply won’t find another AI and energy stock this cheap… with this much upside.

This isn’t a hype stock. It’s not riding on hope.

It’s delivering real cash flows, owns critical infrastructure, and holds stakes in other major growth stories.

This is your chance to get in before the rockets take off!

Disruption is the New Name of the Game: Let’s face it, complacency breeds stagnation.

AI is the ultimate disruptor, and it’s shaking the foundations of traditional industries.

The companies that embrace AI will thrive, while the dinosaurs clinging to outdated methods will be left in the dust.

As an investor, you want to be on the side of the winners, and AI is the winning ticket.

The Talent Pool is Overflowing: The world’s brightest minds are flocking to AI.

From computer scientists to mathematicians, the next generation of innovators is pouring its energy into this field.

This influx of talent guarantees a constant stream of groundbreaking ideas and rapid advancements.

By investing in AI, you’re essentially backing the future.

The future is powered by artificial intelligence, and the time to invest is NOW.

Don’t be a spectator in this technological revolution.

Dive into the AI gold rush and watch your portfolio soar alongside the brightest minds of our generation.

This isn’t just about making money – it’s about being part of the future.

So, buckle up and get ready for the ride of your investment life!

Act Now and Unlock a Potential 100+% Return within 12 to 24 months.

We’re now offering month-to-month subscriptions with no commitments.

For a ridiculously low price of just $9.99 per month, you can unlock our in-depth investment research and exclusive insights – that’s less than a single fast food meal!

Space is Limited! Only 1000 spots are available for this exclusive offer. Don’t let this chance slip away – subscribe to our Premium Readership Newsletter today and unlock the potential for a life-changing investment.

Here’s what to do next:

1. Head over to our website and subscribe to our Premium Readership Newsletter for just $9.99.

2. Enjoy a month of ad-free browsing, exclusive access to our in-depth report on the Trump tariff and nuclear energy company as well as the revolutionary AI-robotics company, and the upcoming issues of our Premium Readership Newsletter.

3. Sit back, relax, and know that you’re backed by our ironclad 30-day money-back guarantee.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity! Subscribe now and take control of your AI investment future!


No worries about auto-renewals! Our 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies whether you’re joining us for the first time or renewing your subscription a month later!