Aerospace And Defense Stocks And ETFs Wait Patiently

U.S. aerospace and defense stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) weren’t able to dodge the post-election drop on Wednesday, and long-term prospects are still not clear.

Uncertainty is a good word to describe what looms over this particular industry, as the election of Barack Obama has analysts divided, reports Andrew T. Gilles for Forbes. Direction will not be indicated until the contracts and funding begin to be pulled in another direction or are put to the side.

Year-to-date, U.S. defense stocks, as measured by FactSet Research Systems, have dropped 34.5%, a shade better than a decline of 35.2% for the U.S. equities market as a whole. Companies that show potential for ling term growth, according to one analyst: AeroVironment (AVAV), ManTech International (MANT) and FLIR Systems (FLIR).

The Boeing (BA) strike had hurt many of the related stocks and ETFs, and the newly elected Democratic administration could be good for the long-term prospects in the sector.

PowerShares Aerospace and Defense (PPA) holds 7.6% for BA; FLIR at 2.2%; MANT at 0.9%. The fund is down 40.6% year-to-date.

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