Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is known rather well for making sector-moving research calls that create ripples due to the vast amounts of money that can flow in and out of sectors when they make bold predictions. The firm has now decided that defense stocks are attractive, and the firm issued a new list of stocks to buy that deal in defense and warfare. This is a call that will appeal to value investors and income or dividend investors alike.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) was covered on this morning’s top analyst upgrades and stocks to buy because this stock was moved up to the prized Conviction Buy List. The firm’s price target is now $127, for about 20% in implied upside. Be advised that the consensus price target is $100.60 as of now, and that is about $7 lower than the current share price. This $127 now counts as the street-high analyst price target.

Other Goldman Sachs research calls for defense and warfare stocks were as follows:

• Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $102 price target.
• Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $95 target.
• Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) was raised only to Neutral with only a $70 price target, but that removes the Sell rating that the firm had in place.

The basis for the upgrades is that the worst may have been seen from spending cuts and sequestration. Valuations in the sector are low and under the S&P 500 index, and the Goldman Sachs research team now feels that the defense sector could outperform the broader stock market for a period of several years.

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