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Lockheed Martin (LMT) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

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Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $445.01, indicating a -0.73% change from the previous session's end. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.1%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.04%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.16%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the aerospace and defense company had lost 1.4% over the past month. This has lagged the Aerospace sector's gain of 8.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 10.77% in that time.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Lockheed Martin in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $7.26, showcasing a 6.8% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $18.05 billion, down 4.96% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $27.24 per share and revenue of $66.6 billion. These totals would mark changes of +0.04% and +0.93%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Lockheed Martin. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.08% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Lockheed Martin presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Lockheed Martin has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.46 right now. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.61.

Investors should also note that LMT has a PEG ratio of 1.91 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Aerospace - Defense industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.91.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, placing it within the top 21% of over 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.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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