Market Update (NYSE:LMT): ExxonMobil Awards Lockheed Martin Next-Generation Refining and Chemical Facility Automation System Contract

[PR Newswire] – SPRING, Texas, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to serve as the systems integrator in the early stage development of a next-generation open and secure automation system for process industries. Lockheed Martin (LMT) will be responsible for the advanced processing architecture working with EMRE in this pre-development phase. As part of this research phase, Lockheed Martin will be conducting an Industry Day on Jan. 26, 2016 and will solicit Requests for Information (RFIs) from industry in support of the new system. “We continue to challenge ourselves by looking at existing processes and finding new and more innovative ways of working using both internal and external ideas,” said Vijay Swarup, vice president of Research and Development at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company. Read more on this. Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) , currently valued at $66.18B, started trading this morning at $214.42. Looking at today’s market, LMT one day range is $212.27 to $217.13 with the price of the stock fluctuating between $181.91 to $227.91 over the last 52 weeks. Lockheed Martin (LMT) shares are currently priced at 18.97x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 2.16x earnings multiple for the same period. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $6.60 per share annually in dividends, yielding 3.10%. According to a consensus of 18 analysts, the earnings estimate of $2.92 per share would be $0.09 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.08 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $11.35 would be a $0.05 setback when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $12.33 Billion. If reported, that would be a 1.60% decrease over the year-ago quarter. Recently, RBC Capital Mkts upgraded LMT from Sector Perform to Outperform (Jan 6, 2016). Previously, Sterne Agee CRT upgraded LMT from Neutral to Buy. The average price target for LMT shares by the analysts covering the stock is $230.88, which is 7.68% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:LMT) Similar Articles: Company Update: Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) – Lockheed Martin Receives $528 Million THAAD Missile-Defense Contract Market Update: Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) – Lockheed wins more than $1 billion contract for C-130J aircraft Stock Update (NYSE:LMT): U.S. Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin Majority Share of Paveway™ II Plus Laser Guided Bomb Contract