Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) pocketed two contracts worth $417 million. The first is worth $318 million for providing services to an anti-explosives Army team in Iraq and Afghanistan. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command in Maryland. The second contract is worth $99.3 million for maintenance support of Army [...]

(LMT) Lockheed Martin Corporation Pockets Two Contracts

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) pocketed two contracts worth $417 million. The first is worth $318 million for providing services to an anti-explosives Army team in Iraq and Afghanistan. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command in Maryland. The second contract is worth $99.3 million for maintenance support of Army Apache helicopters sensors in 2010. The work will be done in Orlando and is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2010.
 
In recent times, Lockheed Martin has witnessed the cancellation of quite a few prominent programs such as the TSAT Mission Operations System (TMOS) contract, F-22 Raptor program and the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter (VH-71) program. Lockheed Martin’s high-cost platform programs were the prime targets of the Obama administration for budget cuts. The addition of $417 million would boost the beleaguered backlog of the company, which had shrunk to $76.4 billion after the first nine months of the fiscal 2009 from $80.9 billion at year-end fiscal 2008.
 
Lockheed Martin remains a key player within the aerospace & defense segment and mainly competes with Boeing Co. (BA), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) and General Dynamics Corp. (GD). The company’s customer base includes the U.S. Government, foreign governments and other commercial buyers. Lockheed’s traditional defense focus appears strong, with increasing interest from domestic and international customers. In addition, management intends to explore strong business opportunities beyond the traditional defense market, specifically in the areas of civil, governmental and commercial space businesses.
 
Going forward, we believe Lockheed Martin has significant upside potential based on strong defense outlays throughout 2009–10, above-industry average return-on-invested-capital and expanding product lines. However, these are offset by risks related to key projects execution, fate of high cost platform programs, lower top-line results in the Aeronautics segment, higher pension liability and lower government satellite programs. We maintain our market Neutral recommendation on the shares.
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Zacks Investment Research

Esterline's not the bargain it was in March.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) closed yesterday at $54.79. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $33.81 and 52-week high of $56.68. Northrop Grumman stock has been showing support around 54.25 and resistance in the 55.31 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives NOC a neutral 3 STAR (o...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

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PALMDALE, Calif., Dec. 9 UPI -- U.S. company Northrop Grumman announced a milestone for a Block 40 configuration of its unmanned aerial system following a successful test flight. Northrop Grumman says the new Block 40 configuration of its RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS successfully completed a flight from the company's facility...

PALMDALE, Calif., Dec. 9 UPI -- U.S. company Northrop Grumman announced a milestone for a Block 40 configuration of its unmanned aerial system following a successful test flight. Northrop Grumman says the new Block 40 configuration of its RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS successfully completed a flight from the company's facility...

Raytheon Co. (RTN) bagged a $160 million contract for continued development work on the Block IIA Standard Missile 3 for the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency. The award extends Raytheon’s original contract for work on the missile program by 10 months to Aug 31, 2010. Standard Missile-3 is a ship based anti-ballistic missile being developed by the [...]

(RTN) Raytheon Missle Contract Extended

Raytheon Co. (RTN) bagged a $160 million contract for continued development work on the Block IIA Standard Missile 3 for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. The award extends Raytheon's original contract for work on the missile program by 10 months to Aug 31, 2010.
 
Standard Missile-3 is a ship based anti-ballistic missile being developed by the Missile Defense Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The Block IIA version will have a larger kill radius compared to its predecessors. The contract will boost the backlog of the Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems segment. In the recently reported quarter, segmental backlog was stagnant at $9.8 billion, compared to $9.9 billion as of year-end fiscal 2008.
 
Raytheon is the one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the U.S. It boasts of a well-diversified line of military products, including missiles, radars, sensors, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, communication and information systems, naval systems, air traffic control systems and technical services.
 
We continue to view Raytheon as one of the best positioned among the large-cap defense primes due to its non-platform-centric focus, strong order bookings and order backlog, strong cash flow generation, and focus on shareholder value. We maintain our market Neutral recommendation on the shares. Defense contractors with significant exposure to high-cost platform programs include Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC), and General Dynamics Corp. (GD).
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Zacks Investment Research

Question-and-Answer Session Operator Operator Instructions Your first question comes from Mark Jordan – Noble Financial Capital Markets. Mark Jordan – Noble Financial Capital Markets First I’d like to talk about BFT please, as you mentioned Northrop Grumman in November delivered the joint capabilities release software. It...

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