Market Update (NYSE:LMT): Congress notified of possible $476 mln missile sale to UAE -Pentagon

[Reuters] – The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of $476 million worth of Hellfire III air-to-surface missiles and associated equipment and services to the United Arab Emirates, the Pentagon said on Friday. The prime contractor is Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control in Dallas, Texas, the Pentagon said in a statement. The company is a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. Read more on this. Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) , valued at $73.71B, started trading this morning at $242.38. A quick look at the market, the company’s stock traded between $241.70 and $244.50 with its 52-week range being $181.91 to $245.37. LMT shares are currently priced at 20.69x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 5.95x forward p/e ratio. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $6.60 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.73%. According to a consensus of 18 analysts, the earnings estimate of $2.92 per share would be $0.02 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $11.84 is a $1.00 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $12.58 Billion. If realized, that would be a 8.08% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Stifel downgraded LMT from Buy to Hold (May 13, 2016). Previously, Berenberg Initiated LMT at to Buy. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $242.44, which is 0.02% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:LMT) Similar Articles: Market Update (NYSE:LMT): Big Time Savings on Small Part: First 3-D-printed Component Flies on U.S. Navy’s Trident II D5 Missile Company Update (NYSE:LMT): Lockheed CEO says Poland, Turkey interested in MEADS missile defense system Company Update: Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) – U.S. okays sale of 8 Lockheed F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan -Pentagon