JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Lockheed Martin’s price target from $620 to $665 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying 6.57% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: Lockheed Martin has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $638.05, with targets from other firms ranging up to $706.
• The stock rose 3.3% to $624.01 after the company reported quarterly EPS of $7.97, beating estimates, while revenue increased 11.3% year over year to $20.71 billion.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $620.00 to $665.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the aerospace company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 6.57% from the stock's previous close.

LMT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $691.00 to $706.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $638.05.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE LMT traded up $19.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $624.01. 730,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,447,185. Lockheed Martin has a one year low of $437.25 and a one year high of $692.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $541.63. The stock has a market cap of $144.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.45. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 83.41%. The business had revenue of $20.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.95 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin will post 30.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,975,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $16,799,530,000 after acquiring an additional 419,582 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Lockheed Martin by 3,983.3% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 7,110,961 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,622,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,936,814 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at $645,258,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter valued at $497,469,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company's stock.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company develops and produces advanced defense, aerospace, and technology systems for government and commercial customers.

Its principal business areas include Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. Products and services include military aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, C-130 Hercules, and F-16 Fighting Falcon; missile-defense and precision-strike systems; helicopters and naval systems; command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies; satellites; space exploration systems; and other classified space and defense programs.

Lockheed Martin serves the U.S.

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