Curtiss-Wright Corp. CW offers a great investment opportunity in the Zacks Aerospace Defense Equipment industry, with rising earnings estimates, robust ROE, strong liquidity, low debt position and strong dividend history.

Let us focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.

Growth Projections & Surprise History of CW
 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CW’s 2024 earnings per share has increased 1.4% to $10.71 per share over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2024 revenues is pegged at $3.08 billion, which implies a rise of 8.3% from the 2023 reported figure.

The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 12.78% in the last four quarters.

Curtiss-Wright’s ROE
 

Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company utilizes funds to generate higher returns. Currently, CW’s ROE is 17.21%, higher than the industry average of 11.02%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing funds more constructively than its peers in the aerospace defense equipment industry.

CW’s Debt Position
 

Currently, Curtiss-Wright’s total debt to capital is 29.64%, better than the industry’s average of 55.52%.

CW’s times interest earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the third quarter of 2024 was 12.9. The TIE ratio of more than 1 indicates that the company will be able to meet its interest payment obligations in the near term without any problems.

CW’s Liquidity
 

Curtiss-Wright’s current ratio at the end of the third quarter was 1.98, higher than the industry average of 1.38. The ratio, being greater than one, indicates Curtiss-Wright’s ability to meet its short-term liabilities without difficulties.

Dividend History of Curtiss-Wright
 

CW has been increasing its shareholder value through regular dividend payments. Curtiss-Wright’s current annual dividend is 84 cents. The company’s dividend yield is 0.23%, better than the industry's average of 0.17%.

CW Stock Price Performance
 

In the past six months, Curtiss-Wright’s stock has rallied 33.8% compared with the industry’s growth of 15.5%.

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Other Stocks to Consider
 

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are HEICO Corporation HEI, BAE Systems BAESY and Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

HEICO’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 19.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HEI’s total revenues for fiscal 2024 stands at $3.89 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 31.1%.

BAE Systems’ long-term earnings growth rate is 12.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAESY’s total revenues for 2024 stands at $36.22 billion, which indicates growth of 37.7% from the 2023 reported figure.

Leonardo DRS’ long-term earnings growth rate is 18%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRS’s 2024 total revenues is pegged at $3.20 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 13.2%.

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