Orbital ATK Wins $21M Defense Order for Multi-Function Fuze

Aerospace and defense company Orbital ATK OA announced that it received a $21 million order from U.S. Navy to produce the MK419 Mod 1 Multi-Function Fuze (MFF).

The MFF increases the overall mission capability of 5-inch gun ammunition used on U.S. Navy ships. It combines the five modes of operation into a single fuze, making it the most effective munitions fuze. This modern fuze system marks an upgrade from the 1980s-era, single-dimension Naval Surface Fire Support munition and will help the Navy counter multiple threats.

The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Contracting Command on behalf of the U.S. Navy and the MFF supplied will be fitted in the MK187 projectile used on U.S. Navy guns.

Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group, which supplies high quality defense products (which increases the defensive as well as offensive capabilities of its defense customers), will be supplying the multi-Function Fuze to the Navy.

Diverse Offering Ensures Contract Flow

Thanks to its diverse product offering, Orbital ATK continues to win a steady stream of contracts from its wide customer base. In 2016, new business received by the company was almost $8.5 billion. Orbital ATK exited 2016 with a backlog of nearly $14.4 billion (up 10% year over year), out of which firm backlog was $9.3 billion (up 13%). This backlog provides visibility to nearly 90% of 2017 targeted revenue.

With President Trump planning to increase U.S. annual defense spending, it will further improve the prospect of this diverse defense company.

Price Movement

Shares of Orbital ATK gained 29.0% over the past six months, outperforming the Zacks categorized Aerospace – Defense Equipment industry's gain of 7.4%.



The company is involved in more than 100 major development and production programs. These programs, along with its wide product offering, assure a continuous source of revenues and inflow of new contracts.

Zacks Rank

Orbital ATK currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same industry are HEICO Corporation HEI, TransDigm Group Incorporated TDG and Rolls-Royce Holdings plc RYCEY.

TransDigm Group currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The company reported a positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 6.58%. Its 2017 Zacks Consensus Estimates moved by 1.6% to $11.56 per share in the last 60 days.

HEICO Corporation, a Zacks Rank #2 stock, reported positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 5.20%. Its 2017 Zacks Consensus Estimates moved by 0.8% to $2.55 per share in the last 60 days.

Rolls-Royce Holdings is another Zacks Rank #2 stock. Its 2017 Zacks Consensus Estimates moved by a penny to 42 cents per share in the last 60 days

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