Here are SunTrust’s top aerospace and defense picks in the second half

Michael Conroy | AP Photo

Chris Book performs maintenance work on the floor in the cargo hold of a Boeing 737 at the AAR Corp. in Indianapolis.

SunTrust research narrowed down its favorite aerospace and defense stocks and issued new price targets for each of the top picks.

“We provide a comprehensive look back at 2Q17 earnings, including company-by-company commentary, growth rates, notable themes, and sector specific trends,” wrote analyst Michael Ciarmoli.

“We encourage investors to stay long defense and aftermarket names but offer up a new set of top ideas for 2H17.”

The aerospace and defense sector is up 18.1 percent since year’s start, outperforming the S&P Index by nearly 10 percentage points, according to Ciarmoli’s report.

Aircraft giant Boeing is currently the largest company in the Dow Jones industrial average and is up over 50 percent year-to-date.

Here are three of SunTrust’s favorite aerospace and defense picks into the second half of the year: