Raytheon Company (RTN) bagged a $241 million U.S. Navy contract to deliver open architecture software capability for the Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1000). Under the contract, software development will support the integration of human-computer- interface components for the ship's engineering machinery controls and damage control systems. Specifically, Raytheon will deliver computer graphical user interfaces and a technical data manager capability to control Zumwalt's ship propulsion, integrated power, auxiliary and damage control systems. The effort will also include support to land-based and shipboard testing of these subsystems. Work on this contract modification will be performed at Raytheon’s Integrated Defence Systems Headquarters, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and at the Seapower Capability Center, Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The contract will boost the backlog of the Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems segment. In the recently reported quarter, segmental backlog was stagnant at $9.8 billion compared to $9.9 billion as of year-end fiscal 2008....

Raytheon Co. (RTN) bagged a $77 million contract from the US Air Force for building missiles for Korea and Taiwan. According to terms of the contract, the company will produce AGM-65D and AGM-65G2 infrared-guided Maverick air-to-surface missiles for the two Asian nations.

Raytheon will manufacture and provide life-cycle support for more than 250 new missiles. The company began producing the missiles’ infrared guidance and control sections in November 2008.

The company’s AGM-65 Maverick is a class of air-to-ground tactical missile used by US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and 33 international customers. Its AGM-65D has a 125-pound warhead with a forward-firing, conical-shaped charge for armor penetrations. Raytheon’s AGM-65G2 employs a 300-pound blast fragmentation/penetrator warhead that was developed for maximum effectiveness against larger, reinforced targets. The company has manufactured more than 69,000 AGM-65 missiles till date.

Raytheon is the one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the

...

Raytheon Missile Systems, an operating unit of Raytheon Company (RTN), received a $93.9 million contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command, authorizing the start of production of Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). The anti-air warfare missile completed tests in August 2009, validating the go-ahead to initiate production. Work on the contract – expected to be completed by March 2012 – will be executed in Tucson, AZ, Camden, AR, Boston, MA and elsewhere. Raytheon Missile Systems’ contractual backlog of late has witnessed a slide from $9.9 billion after the end of the fiscal 2008 to $7.6 billion after the end of the first-half of fiscal 2009. This was mainly due to the cancellation of the $2.4 billion KEI program. The initiation of production of the SM-6 missile generated another steady stream of orders for the company. Raytheon is the one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in ...

Raytheon Company (RTN) is planning to acquire privately held BBN Technologies to boost its advanced networking and speech and language technologies. Raytheon expects to complete the transaction by year's end. BBN Technologies was set up in 1984 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors Richard Bolt and Leo Beranek with MIT graduate Robert Newman. The company has about 700 employees in its seven U.S. facilities. Raytheon’s acquisition of BBN Technologies has been planned in accordance with its focus on strengthening its Intelligence and Information Systems segment, whose importance rose in recent times with Pentagon’s emphasis on cyber security and mission-critical intelligence products. Intelligence and Information Systems segment is the dark horse for growth considering the Pentagon’s ire towards high-cost platform programs. However, Raytheon ended the second quarter of fiscal 2009 with a funded backlog of only $1.8 billion, the lowest among its six operating segments....

Raytheon Company (RTN) continues to be a solid Growth and Income pick with strong fundamentals, such as an industry-leading dividend yield of 3%. Raytheon's return on equity (ROE) of 18% tops the industry average of 15%. The company's net profit margin of 7.5% compares to an industry average of 6%.

Company Description

Raytheon Company is the one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the U.S., with a well-diversified line of military products, including missiles, radars, sensors, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, communication and information systems, naval systems, air traffic control systems, and technical services.

A Recent Contract

The company was recently awarded a $7 million follow-on contract from the Office of Naval Research to improve the semiconductors used by U.S. military agencies.

Stellar Fundamentals

Raytheon continues to be a solid Growth and Income pick with strong fundamentals, such as an industry-leading dividend yield of 3%. Raytheon's return on equity (ROE)

...

Raytheon Company (RTN) recently posted second-quarter earnings of $1.24 per share, topping the year-prior $1.00 and exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10%.

Company Description

Raytheon Company is the one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the U.S., with a well-diversified line of military products, including missiles, radars, sensors, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, communication and information systems, naval systems, air traffic control systems, and technical services.

A Recent Contract

Raytheon was recently awarded a $9.9 million contract to perform concept studies for the U.S. Navy's Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR).

Management noted that the contract will help reduce costs and provide "no doubt-reliability and effectiveness for naval forces around the world."

A Stellar Quarter

The company recently posted second-quarter earnings of $1.24 per share, topping the year-prior $1.00 and exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10%.

Net sales of $6.1 billion came in above last year's $5.9 billion.

...

Below are some of the key sections of the Summary of the Fed Beige Book and my reaction to it interspersed. I have also bolded what I consider to be remarks worthy of emphasis in the report. "Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts suggest that economic activity continued to be weak going into the summer, but most Districts indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level..." In other words, the economy is no longer falling off a cliff, but it has not started to climb back either. This is consistent with most of the other economic data we have been getting recently. "Most Districts reported sluggish retail activity...Manufacturing activity showed some improvement in the Richmond, Chicago and Kansas City Districts; while St. Louis and Dallas reported some moderation ...

Raytheon (RTN) announced better-than-expected 2nd quarter results. The defense electronics giant -- in contrast to the flagship of defense contractors, Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) -- reported 25% higher EPS of $1.24 over the year-ago quarter. Lockheed Martin reported 13% lower EPS over the year-ago quarter. While Lockheed was swept away by pension blues, Raytheon gained $11 million during the quarter from pension adjustments. The Details Raytheon exceeded both our and market expectations of $1.13 for the quarter. Operating income fell marginally year-over-year (1.9%) in the Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) and Missile Systems (MS, 7%) segments. This was more than made up by Network Centric Systems (NCS, 12.6%), Space and Airborne Systems (SAS, 24.1%) and Technical Services (TS, 17.8%), along with steady Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS). On the revenue front, although Raytheon grew 4% during the quarter to $6.1 billion, it failed to ...

 Raytheon Continues to Report Improved ResultsRaytheon Co. (RTN) continues to consistently report improved year-over-year revenue and EPS results.The bullish story on Raytheon revolves around signs of an improving business jet market, increased defense spending, superior backlogs, and strong cash flow. Revenue and earnings growth continue to be driven by strong demand for missile and missile defense systems as well as network-centric mission solutions, including sensor and communication systems.Raytheon announced strong financial results for its 1st quarter of 2009. Excluding non-recurring items, earnings from continuing operations were $457 million, or $1.11 per diluted share ($1.12 basic), up 14%, compared to earnings of $401 million, or $0.92 per diluted share ($0.94 basic), in the year-ago quarter. In the reported quarter, net income increased to $452 million, or $1.12 per diluted share ($1.13 basic), from $398 million, or $0.92 per diluted share ($0.94 basic), recorded ...

Trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market, Taylor Devices Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets shock absorption, rate control, and energy storage devices. As part of the Diversified Machinery industry, they are a leading manufacturer of shock absorbers, liquid springs, shock isolation systems, seismic isolators, vibration dampers, and powerplant snubbers, among other products. Incorporated in 1955, the company’s products offer turnkey solutions to shock and vibration problems.

Taylor makes their products for use in various types of vehicles, machinery, equipment, and structures. They serve the industrial, steel mills, buildings, bridges, aerospace, defense, and automotive markets. Headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York, they have five production facilities. They provide complete analysis, and testing capabilities to their customers’ to meet their specific requirements for their products.

The company has two interconnected production plants. One is for “Small Manufacturing” and the other is for “Large Manufacturing”. The Small Parts plant produces all Taylor products that are

...