I bet you didn’t know one of the best performing groups in 2016 has been the defense names. From Northrop Grumman, to Boeing to Lockheed Martin, this group has been carrying the industrials this year, and they may not be finished.
After a vicious decline to start the year this group has been the leader since the market bottomed in February. So far we have the XAR (defense/aerospace ETF) higher by a modest 5% or so in 2016, led by solid gains from Northrop. This stock is up 7% for the year after just shedding a modest amount in the January selloff.
Lockheed is up about 5% so far this year after getting pounded early in the year by more than 10%. Boeing, one of our favorite names has come back up after a staggering 27% loss in the first six weeks of the year. This stock is still lower for the year but has pared those losses back considerably. As it makes a move on the 200 ma (see chart) there is some momentum building.
As Jim Cramer says each day, ‘there is a bull market somewhere’, and currently we have one cookin’ in the defense sector. These are great names with solid growth prospects and nice dividends to provide some protection, too.
