Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,390,000 shares, a growth of 21.9% from the April 30th total of 1,960,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT stock traded down $4.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $477.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,062,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,166. Lockheed Martin has a twelve month low of $418.88 and a twelve month high of $618.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $466.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.17.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.34 by $0.94. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Lockheed Martin's payout ratio is 57.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 7.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,031,528 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,587,444,000 after buying an additional 560,457 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,374,557,000 after buying an additional 59,597 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,287,495 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,021,846,000 after acquiring an additional 31,443 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,098,667,000 after purchasing an additional 134,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 0.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,144,827 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $958,116,000 after acquiring an additional 12,899 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LMT. Melius downgraded Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $685.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $550.00 to $480.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $476.00 to $432.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.80.

About Lockheed Martin

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.