Lockheed Martin (LMT) closed at $540.33 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.52% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.5%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.31%.
The aerospace and defense company's shares have seen an increase of 5.43% over the last month, surpassing the Aerospace sector's gain of 4% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.23%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Lockheed Martin in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $7.09, down 2.74% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $19.41 billion, up 6.9% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $29.88 per share and a revenue of $79.05 billion, representing changes of +29.24% and +5.33%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Lockheed Martin should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Lockheed Martin presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Lockheed Martin currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.36. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 23.23.
It's also important to note that LMT currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.99. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Aerospace - Defense industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.57 as of yesterday's close.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 103, placing it within the top 43% 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.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).