Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock Price Down 1.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after DZ Bank downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. DZ Bank now has a $665.00 price target on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as low as $618.45 and last traded at $628.8390. Approximately 2,298,147 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 2,246,602 shares. The stock had previously closed at $636.00.

LMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $580.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $596.89.

Key Headlines Impacting Lockheed Martin

Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts and commentators reiterate Lockheed’s long-term value and bull case, citing strong backlog, cash flow trends and defense demand; Zacks and MSN ran pieces highlighting LMT as a top value/long-term holding. Why Lockheed Martin (LMT) is a top value stock for the long term Zacks: Why Lockheed Martin is a Top Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed completed the first operational test phase for its A4 radar — a technical/contract milestone that supports future program revenue and reduces execution risk. Lockheed Martin Completes First Operational Test Phase For A4 Radar
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets and analysts have recently raised price targets on LMT (examples include raises up to the mid/high $600s and $695 reported), signaling continued analyst confidence in upside over a longer horizon. Price Target Raised to $695
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest in LMT fell ~14.8% in January, which reduces immediate short-covering risk and reflects lower bearish positioning. Short Interest Down 14.8%
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and research sites are flagging LMT as a trending stock, increasing retail/institutional attention but not adding new fundamental news. Zacks: What to Know Beyond LMT Trending
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS/TipRanks commentary kept a Hold rating (PT ~$663), noting segment growth and cash-flow strength but also pension normalization and delayed free-cash-flow inflection — a balanced view that tempers immediate bullishness. TipRanks: Neutral/Hold Rating Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: DZ Bank downgraded LMT from Buy to Hold (PT $665) — this downgrade/hold messaging likely triggered short-term selling pressure and contributed to today’s downward move despite other positive signals. Finviz: DZ Bank Downgrade

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 29,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth about $3,075,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 22.4% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 25,423 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 29.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,010,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 482.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 6,979 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 5,781 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $144.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $513.37 and its 200 day moving average is $482.11.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.53). Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 108.53% and a net margin of 6.69%.The business had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.