StockNews.com Lowers Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LMT. Melius raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius Research raised shares of Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.71.

Lockheed Martin Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LMT opened at $562.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Lockheed Martin has a 1 year low of $413.92 and a 1 year high of $618.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $580.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $514.62.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 26.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 45.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556,609 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,281 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1,075.2% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 481,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $218,841,000 after purchasing an additional 440,169 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 953,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $433,621,000 after purchasing an additional 218,506 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 219.3% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 318,107 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $149,138,000 after purchasing an additional 218,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. The company operates through Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space segments.