Five Defense Stocks to Buy Right Now

#2 Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)

– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 37

– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $826.81 million

In spite of its shares appreciating by 4.7% and its ownership among funds tracked by us inching down by two, the aggregate value of investors’ holdings in Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) saw a 45.7% decline during the fourth quarter. One of the largest shareholders of the company, Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management further reduced its holding by 17% to 545,416 during the fourth quarter after having already cut it by one-third during the third quarter. Owing to the rally Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s stock has seen since mid-February, it is currently trading up by 1% for the year. Speaking at the company’s annual media day on March 15, Lockheed Martin Corporation’s CEO, Marillyn Hewson, said that the company has ‘no regrets’ about its acquisitions of Sirkosy for $9 billion last year despite the slowdown in commercial helicopter sales. On March 8, the company announced a voluntary layoff for its Aeronautics business, through which it intends to reduce its headcount by 1,000.

#1 Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 40

– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $2.26 billion

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has continued its upward journey, which it began in 2013, this year too. The stock of the company has almost tripled in the last three years and has been making new all-time highs almost every month. Hence, it’s not hard to understand why the company’s popularity among hedge funds is on the rise. During the October-December period, ownership of the company among the investors we track increased by three and the aggregate value of holdings rose by $285 million. Billionaire Stephen Mandel‘s Lone Pine Capital initiated a large stake in the company during that period by purchasing over 2.13 million shares. The company is expected to report its fiscal 2016 first quarter numbers at the end of next month and analysts are currently expecting EPS of $2.47 on revenue of $5.92 billion for the quarter. For the same quarter of the previous year, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) reported EPS of $2.41 on revenue of $6.00 billion. The stock currently sports an average rating of ‘Overweight’ and an average price target of $201.80 from the 20 prominent research houses and analysts who cover it.

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