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L3Harris (LHX) Wins $15.6M Deal to Support Submarine Production

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L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX - Free Report) recently clinched a contract for supplying system production and associated components to support new construction and in-service class submarines. The deal has been awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.  

Valued at $15.6 million, the contract is expected to be complete by August 2025. The majority of the work related to this deal will be carried out in Bologna, Italy.

What’s Favoring L3Harris?

The U.S. fiscal 2024 defense budget proposal highlights $48.1 billion worth of investments in sea power. Consequently, this should benefit L3Harris, with the company being one of the major providers of engineering and fleet technical support for the U.S. submarine force for more than 20 years.

Going forward, per the report from Mordor Intelligence, the submarine market is expected to witness a CAGR of 4% over the 2023-2028 period. The expanding size of the submarine market may continue to provide support services contracts for L3Harris, like the latest one, in the days ahead. This may boost its revenue generation prospects.

Peer Prospects

Fortified defense spending to strengthen warfare capabilities has been on the radar for most nations. These include upgrading and modernizing land warfare capabilities, sea warfare skills and air warfare efficiencies. The increasing threat in sea missions encourages increased investments in submarines and related products as they are capable of leading a vast range of missions.

In this context, defense majors that are the prime contractors of military submarines and related parts are likely to benefit. Other than L3Harris, some key players in the submarine market include:

General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) : Its Marine Systems segment is the leading designer and builder of nuclear-powered submarines. The company is investing $1.8 billion of capital in expanded and modernized facilities at Electric Boat to support growth in submarine construction.

General Dynamics has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.6%. Its investors have gained 4.5% in the past month.

BAE Systems (BAESY - Free Report) : Its Astute class is the largest and most advanced attack submarine for the U.K. Royal Navy. Equipped with world-leading sensors, the Astute class carries both Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes.

BAE Systems boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 13.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAESY’s 2023 earnings suggests a growth rate of 7% from the prior-year reported figure.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII - Free Report) : Its Newport News Shipbuilding (“NNS”) is one of the two designers and builders of nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy. It provides fleet services to submarines worldwide, offering modernization, repair and installation services. NNS is a major shipbuilding partner in the Columbia-class program and the Virginia-class submarine program.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Huntington’s 2023 earnings suggests a growth rate of 0.6% from the prior-year reported figure. The consensus estimate for HII’s 2023 sales indicates a growth rate of 2.5% from the prior-year reported figure.

Price Movement

In the past month, shares of L3Harris have increased 3.7% against the industry’s decline of 0.3%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank

L3Harris currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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