Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Lockheed Martin (LMT) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) closed at $355.66 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.74% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.34% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 2.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.94%.

Heading into today, shares of the aerospace and defense company had lost 5.42% over the past month, outpacing the Aerospace sector's loss of 9.19% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.92% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from LMT as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 21, 2020. In that report, analysts expect LMT to post earnings of $5.71 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 14.2%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $15.24 billion, up 5.6% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $24.05 per share and revenue of $63.51 billion, which would represent changes of +9.57% and +6.19%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for LMT. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. LMT is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that LMT has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.68 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.53.

Meanwhile, LMT's PEG ratio is currently 2.12. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Aerospace - Defense was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.26 at yesterday's closing price.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 231, putting it in the bottom 10% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow LMT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) - free report >>

Published in