The most recent trading session ended with Lockheed Martin (LMT) standing at $480.17, reflecting a +0.28% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.58% gain on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.51%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.81%.
Shares of the aerospace and defense company have appreciated by 1.54% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Aerospace sector's gain of 9.04% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.61%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Lockheed Martin in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $6.58, marking a 7.45% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $18.59 billion, up 2.57% from the prior-year quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $27.24 per share and a revenue of $74.31 billion, signifying shifts of -4.32% and +4.6%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments 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. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% lower within the past month. Currently, Lockheed Martin is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Lockheed Martin is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 17.58. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 23.02.
Meanwhile, LMT's PEG ratio is currently 1.67. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Aerospace - Defense was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.9 at yesterday's closing price.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 20% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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