(FORTUNE Magazine) – Allen Paulson, chief executive of Gulfstream Aerospace, picked a great time to take his company public. But if the new-issues market was hot in May 1983, it was a terrible time for planemakers. With memories of the last recession still vivid, corporations were reluctant to shell out millions for new executive jets. Gulfstream's stock, launched at $19 a share, spurted briefly to $24 before nosediving into the teens, where it has since remained most of the time. However, some security analysts are now recommending Gulfstream to investors looking for long-term appreciation, partly because of the fall in price. In the heady days of 1983 the stock was selling as high as 15 times earnings; now it's less than ten times expected 1985 earnings. Wall Streeters also stress the stock's safety: Gulfstream bucked the headwinds of corporate cost-cutting and managed to increase its sales while those of its competitors were sinking. The analysts also believe that two recent developments--falling oil prices and concerns about commuter airline safety--will prompt more companies to invest in executive airplanes. Gulfstream's best-selling product is the Gulfstream III, a Rolls-Royce- powered 12-seater introduced in 1979. Priced up to $14 million, it is still considered the classiest plane in the business-jet market. ''They set the standard,'' says Geoffrey Hance, an analyst with Florida-based Blackstock & Co., which has Gulfstream on its buy list. But luxury is just one reason that the Savannah-based company's prospects have improved in recent months. Gulfstream has accumulated a five-year, $1- billion backlog of orders for its new Gulfstream IV, scheduled for delivery in 1986, and has developed a military reconnaissance version of the Gulfstream III dubbed the SRA-1, which it hopes to sell abroad. Gulfstream's decision to discontinue its slow-selling turboprop Commander line should remove a drag on profits. Blackstock projects earnings of $1.65 a share this year for Gulfstream, sharply higher following write-offs in 1984, and a ''big boost'' a couple of years down the runway.

CHART: TEXT NOT AVAILABLE Lost Altitude Gulfstream's stock has slumped since it was first offered, but analysts are look ng for a climb.