Lockheed Martin (LMT) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Lockheed Martin (LMT) closed at $410.62, marking a -1.16% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.95% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.64%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.23%.
Heading into today, shares of the aerospace and defense company had lost 7.17% over the past month, lagging the Aerospace sector's gain of 1.42% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.49% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Lockheed Martin as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Lockheed Martin is projected to report earnings of $6.41 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 10.1%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $16.25 billion, down 4.6% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $26.84 per share and revenue of $66.15 billion. These totals would mark changes of +18.6% and -1.33%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Lockheed Martin. 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.03% higher. Lockheed Martin currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Digging into valuation, Lockheed Martin currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.48. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.89, which means Lockheed Martin is trading at a discount to the group.
Also, we should mention that LMT has a PEG ratio of 2.73. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Aerospace - Defense industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2 as of yesterday's close.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 226, which puts it in the bottom 11% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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