HEICO Corporation HEI benefits from its aviation aftermarket services and disciplined acquisition strategy, which has played a key role in the company's overall expansion. Given its strong growth, HEI makes for a solid investment option in the Zacks Aerospace Defense Equipment industry.

Let’s focus on the reasons that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock an attractive investment pick at the moment.

HEI’s Growth Projections & Surprise History

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HEI’s fiscal 2025 earnings per share (EPS) stands at $4.39, which indicates year-over-year growth of 19.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 EPS is pegged at $4.92, which implies year-over-year growth of 12%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2025 revenues is pegged at $4.28 billion, which calls for a rise of 11.1% from the fiscal 2024 reported sales figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $4.59 billion, which indicates a year-over-year increase of 7.1%.

The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 17%. HEI surpassed expectations in the last four reported quarters and delivered an average earnings surprise of 11.92%.

HEI’s Liquidity

HEI’s current ratio at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2025 was 3.40, higher than the industry’s average of 1.68. A current ratio greater than one indicates that the company has enough short-term assets to liquidate to cover all short-term liabilities, if necessary.

HEICO’s Debt Position

Currently, HEICO’s total debt to capital is 38.18%, much better than the industry’s average of 52.09%.

HEI’s times interest earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2025 was 6.1. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.

HEI’s Return on Equity

Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, HEICO’s ROE is 15.6% compared to its industry’s average of 10.2%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its funds more constructively than its peers in the industry.

HEI’s Strategic Buyouts

In January 2025, HEICO stated that its Sunshine Avionics subsidiary had acquired critical assets and an exclusive perpetual license from Honeywell for the Boeing 777 AIMS and Boeing 737NG/P-8/E-7 VIA avionics systems.

In February 2025, the company announced that its Flight Support Group had purchased a 90% share in Millennium International, LLC, a supplier of business jet avionics repair solutions that specializes in mission-critical repairs and maintenance for both next-generation and legacy avionics systems.

These valuable acquisitions strengthen HEICO's position in high-value cockpit avionics, increasing its market footprint and aviation aftermarket services.

HEI Stock Outperforms Industry

In the past three months, HEI shares have rallied 1.3% against the industry’s decline of 7.6%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS, BWX Technologies BWXT and Woodward, Inc. WWD, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

DRS’ long-term earnings growth rate is 14.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $1.07, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 15.1%.

BWXT’s long-term earnings growth rate is 11.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $3.50, which implies an improvement of 5.1%.

Woodward’s long-term earnings growth rate is 12.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 EPS is pegged at $6.16, which indicates year-over-year growth of 0.8%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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