Back to top

Image: Bigstock

4 Reasons Why Lockheed Martin is Worth Giving a Shot Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

Earnings estimates for Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT - Free Report) have been revised upward in the past 60 days, reflecting analysts' optimism in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 and 2020 earnings moved up 5.39% and 1.48% to $20.53 and $24.72, respectively.

Let’s focus on the factors that make Lockheed Martin a profitable pick.

Earnings & Surprise History

In first-quarter 2019, Lockheed Martin delivered earnings of $5.99 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.29 by 39.6%.

The company’s average four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 17.35%.

Zacks Rank & VGM Score

Lockheed Martin currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has an impressive VGM Score of B.

Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum, with the score being a weighted combination of all three factors. Back tested results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a bullish Zacks Rank are the best investment options.

Increasing Backlog

Lockheed Martin ended the first quarter of 2019 with $133.5 billion in backlog, up 2.3% from $130.5 billion at the end of 2018. Of this, the Aeronautics segment accounted for $52.34 billion, while Rotary and Mission Systems contributed $31.33 billion. Also, $26.59 billion stemmed from Space Systems, and $23.21 billion from the Missiles and Fire Control segment. Going forward too, the company is expected to gain significantly from increasing backlog.

Price Movement

Shares of Lockheed Martin have gained 6.8% in the past 12 months against the industry’s decline of 1.9%.



 

Other Stocks to Consider    

A few similarly-ranked stocks in the same sector are Wesco Aircraft Holdings , Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC - Free Report) and Leidos Holdings (LDOS - Free Report) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wesco Aircraft’s long-term growth estimates currently stand at 12%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings has increased 3.7% to 84 cents in the past 60 days.

Northrop Grumman Corporation delivered average positive earnings surprise of 18.50% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings has climbed 1.85% to $19.29 in the past 60 days.

Leidos Holdings came up with average positive earnings surprise of 6.81% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019
earnings has risen 1.1% to $4.58 in the past 60 days.

Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential

The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.

Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.

See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>

Published in