Boeing Wins $383M Protected Tactical Enterprise Service Deal

The Boeing Company BA recently secured a $383.4 million modification contract for providing Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES). The contract was awarded by the Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo, CA.

This deal involves a joint ground platform that will offer tactically enhanced anti-jam satellite communications to war fighters in contested environments. Work related to the deal will be carried out in El Segundo and is expected get completed by Dec 31, 2025. Boeing will utilize fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds for the task.

A Brief Note on PTES

According to the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), the PTES is a hub-and-spoke system that reaches out to tactical war fighters and uses the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) constellation. It is used to tap the Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW), which the government has developed to provide secure communications in a frequency-agnostic format. It also provides additional secure communications, enabling war fighters to avail connectivity in contested environments without getting their location identified.

What Favors Boeing?

In recent times, the U.S. military satellite communications has witnessed significant expansion that has led to the development of new satellites with a larger variety of capabilities. Air Force leaders have also been pressing military contractors for developing new commercial communications satellite technologies and systems for complementing military counterparts. To this end, Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) segment has been clinching pivotal awards related to communication satellites from the United States as well as international customers.

Notably, the company’s BDS segment recorded third-quarter 2018 net sales of $5.73 billion, reflecting a 13% improvement from the year-ago quarter. Considering this, we may expect notable contracts like the latest one to instill further growth in this segment.

Per Markets and Markets research firm, the Satellite Communication (SATCOM) Equipment market is projected to reach $30.32 billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 8.46% from $18.63 billion in 2016. Such growth prospects for this market should benefit Boeing, being a prominent satellite communication systems provider.

Price Movement

Boeing’s stock has gained 19.1% in the past 12 months compared with the industry’s growth of 2.8%. The outperformance was primarily led by the robust worldwide demand for its commercial aircraft and military jets.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Boeing currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

A few other top-ranked companies in the same sector are Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings AJRD, Raytheon Company RTN and Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT.

While Aerojet Rocketdyne sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Raytheon and Lockheed Martin carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Aerojet Rocketdyne came up with average positive earnings surprise of 19.27% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has increased 43.3% to $1.82 in the past 90 days.

Raytheon delivered average positive earnings surprise of 6.71% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has moved up 1.7% to $10.10 cents in the past 90 days.

Lockheed Martin pulled off average positive earnings surprise of 13.92% for the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has moved 2.9% north to $17.51 in the past 90 days.

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