Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, what do you think about Booz Allen Hamilton as a stock to buy? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., $87.77, symbol BAH on New York (Shares outstanding: 137.8 million; Market cap: $12.0 billion; www.boozallen.com), is a management and IT consulting firm headquartered in McLean, Virginia. It has 80 offices around the world. The company gets 96% of its revenue from contracts with U.S. government agencies and departments as well as the military. Booz Allen provides a variety of services such as management consulting, data analytics, digital solutions, engineering solutions, and cyber security. The Navy Marine Corps, alone, accounts for 13% of its revenue. In total, the company employs 27,400 people—roughly 29% are military veterans and 66% hold security clearances with the U.S. government. In 2010, Booz Allen went public at $17 per share. Since then the company has made a number of strategic acquisitions. In 2012, it purchased the Defense Systems Engineering & Support business of ARINC, a provider of communications, engineering and security solutions. In 2014, Booz Allen acquired Epidemico, an analytics company that uses…