Exchange Traded Funds | Jul 26, 2007 | 0 Comments

US Aerospace and Defense Play—ITA

The US Aerospace and Defense industry has been doing very well this year. With the war on terrorism raging on and not ending anytime soon, there are many great plays in this sector.

But what stocks should you own—Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies? There’s an exchange traded fund that will allow you to own all these names and more.

The ETF is iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (Symbol: ITA), which follows the Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense Index. The aerospace side consists of companies that manufacture, assemble and distribute aircraft and aircraft parts. On the defense site, the companies produce components and equipment for the defense industry—military aircraft, radar equipment and weapons.

Here’s a breakdown of its top 10 holdings, which account for just over 60% of total assets.

• Boeing (Symbol: BA) 9.6%
• United Technologies (Symbol: UTX) 9%
• Lockheed Martin (Symbol: LMT ) 6.4%
• General Dynamics (Symbol: GD) 5.9%
• Raytheon (Symbol: RTN) 5.8%
• Northrop Grumman (Symbol: NOC) 5.6%
• Precision Castparts (Symbol: PCP) 5.2%
• L-3 Communications Holdings (Symbol: LLL) 4.3%
• Rockwell Collins (Symbol: COL) 4.1%
• Goodrich (Symbol: GR) 3.6%

ITA has $209.9 million in total net assets and was trading around $65 on Thursday, July 26, 2007. This ETF was created in May of 2006 and it’s up 17.76% year to date.

At $65, it’s trading near the 52-week high of $66.82. It’s been climbing since it was near $48 in September 2006. Here’s the chart showing ITA’s progress from September 2006 to current.



Morningstar calls ITA a Mid-Cap Blend with medium growth and size. If this exchange traded fund interests you, I’d look to buy it under $65. Today (July 26, 2007), ITA is down 1.76% to $64.85 in intraday trading. Take a look a look at this three-month chart for ITA. While it’s had some dips (buying opportunities), ITA has kept inching upwards.