“Powered by its strong earnings growth of 25.46% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 26.07% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period,” reports Laurie Kulikowski of TheStreet.com on Boeing.
XAR is also home to Dow component United Technologies (NYSE: UTX). Boeing is one just nine Dow stocks up at least 5% this year. United Technologies is up nearly 4%. Orders for new commercial aircraft are at historic highs due to airlines replacing aging fleets and/or expanding current fleets.
Although the aerospace and defense industry is perceived as being beholden to Uncle Sam’s whims, the allure of late-cycle sectors, including industrials, in a rising rate environment remains in place. Industrials perform well when interest rates rise because rising rates can go hand-in-hand with economic growth.
The aerospace-defense group has a beta of 1.9 to U.S. GDP growth compare to 1.7% for the S&P 500. [Stealthy Aerospace ETF Surges]
SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF
