Chasing Value: Raytheon (RTN) up on earnings & 2008 outlook

Defense sector favorite Ratheon Co (NYSE: RTN) reported a very positive fourth quarter and an optimistic outlook for the year ahead. This has sent the stock up over 2% or about $1.50. It closed Wednesday at $63.43 and was trading near $65.00 per share midday.

RTN was one of my picks for the year Chasing Value: Raytheon in defense of the nation and your portfolio, and my best performer so far. I will be reporting on the Chasing Value: Final list -- 8 stocks for 2008 first month results next week.

Lower pension costs and a tax benefit helped Raytheon post a 64% increase in its fourth-quarter profits [WSJ -subscription required]. Net income rose to $598 million from $365 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Raytheon also said its backlog increased 13%, and it boosted its outlook for 2008 to between $3.65 and $3.80 a share.

I still think that in 2008 the defense sector will outperform the overall market. Raytheon has an above market P/E ratio of about 19, but its price-to-sales ratio of 1.17 is not unreasonable. It also pays a dividend. Although RTN is not generally considered a technology stock in the same breadth as computer and internet companies, I believe it should be and that it offers superior market value to most of them.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the design and research principal for an architecture & planning firm. He doesn't own shares of RTN.