Zacks.com featured highlights include Astronics, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, Natural Gas Services and Strattec Security

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – January 5, 2026– Stocks in this week’s article are — like Astronics Corp. ATRO, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. GLDD, Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. NGS and Strattec Security Corp. STRT.

4 Stocks Showing Strong & Improving Cash Flow Momentum for 2026

As investors position portfolios for 2026, the importance of healthy cash flow is taking center stage in evaluating business strength and durability. While profits remain a key goal, consistent cash generation underpins a company’s ability to sustain operations, fund growth initiatives and maintain financial flexibility.

In this context, stocks such as Astronics Corp., Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp., Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. and Strattec Security Corp. emerge as compelling picks, supported by improving cash flow trends.

Although profit-making companies often attract investor attention, earnings alone do not ensure long-term stability. Businesses with uneven cash flows can face stress even when profitable. Steady cash generation signals effective capital management, provides protection during market volatility and is especially valuable amid persistent global uncertainty and market dislocations.

To figure out this efficiency, one needs to consider a company’s net cash flow. While in any business, cash moves in and out, it is net cash flow that explains how much money a company is actually generating.

If a company is experiencing a positive cash flow, it denotes an increase in its liquid assets, which gives it the means to meet debt obligations, shell out for expenses, reinvest in the business, endure downturns and finally return wealth to shareholders. On the other hand, a negative cash flow indicates a decline in the company’s liquidity, which in turn lowers its flexibility to support these moves.

However, having a positive cash flow merely does not secure a company’s future growth. To ride on the growth curve, a company must have its cash flow increasing because that indicates management’s efficiency in regulating its cash movements and less dependency on outside financing for running its business.

Therefore, keep yourself abreast with the following screen to bet on stocks with rising cash flows.

Here are four out of 12 stocks that qualified the screening:

Astronics is a manufacturer of specialized lighting and electronics for the cockpit, cabin and exteriors of military, commercial transport and private business jet aircraft. As a major lighting and electronics supplier to the aircraft industry, ATRO’s strategy is to expand from a components and subsystems supplier to an aircraft lighting systems integrator, increasing the value and content it provides to various aircraft platforms.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Astronics’s 2025 and 2026 earnings per share have improved 10.3% and 8.4%, respectively, over the past two months. ATRO has a VGM Score of B.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, conducting business to maintain and deepen shipping channels, reclaim land from the ocean and renourish storm-damaged coastline.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved upward by 6.9% over the past two months. GLDD has a VGM Score of A.

Natural Gas Services Group manufactures, fabricates, sells, rents and services natural gas compressors that enhance the production of natural gas wells.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Natural Gas Services Group’s 2025 and 2026 earnings per share has improved 9.5% and 14.1%, respectively, over the past two months. NGS has a VGM Score of A.

Strattec Security designs, develops, manufactures and markets mechanical locks, electro-mechanical locks and related products for automotive manufacturers with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. STRT has a VGM Score of A.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Strattec Security’s fiscal 2026 earnings has moved 23.3% north in the past two months and currently stands at $5.24 per share.

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For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at:

https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2811277/4-stocks-showing-strong-and-improving-cash-flow-momentum-for-2026

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