Comparing Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) and BWX Technologies (BWXT)

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) and BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) are both mid-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitabiliy, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Lockheed Martin Corporation and BWX Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lockheed Martin Corporation	10.37%	221.92%	7.97%
BWX Technologies	11.63%	98.16%	12.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lockheed Martin Corporation and BWX Technologies’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lockheed Martin Corporation	$49.05 billion	1.74	$6.23 billion	$17.12	17.36
BWX Technologies	$1.61 billion	3.26	$316.03 million	$1.83	28.96

Lockheed Martin Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than BWX Technologies. Lockheed Martin Corporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BWX Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.7% of Lockheed Martin Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.4% of BWX Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Lockheed Martin Corporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of BWX Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Lockheed Martin Corporation has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BWX Technologies has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Lockheed Martin Corporation and BWX Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lockheed Martin Corporation	0	8	7	0	2.47
BWX Technologies	0	1	4	0	2.80

Lockheed Martin Corporation currently has a consensus price target of $284.82, suggesting a potential downside of 4.15%. BWX Technologies has a consensus price target of $51.40, suggesting a potential downside of 3.00%. Given BWX Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BWX Technologies is more favorable than Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Dividends

Lockheed Martin Corporation pays an annual dividend of $7.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. BWX Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lockheed Martin Corporation pays out 42.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BWX Technologies pays out 24.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. BWX Technologies has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Summary

BWX Technologies beats Lockheed Martin Corporation on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

Lockheed Martin Corporation Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a security and aerospace company. The Company operates through four segments. Aeronautics segment is engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, sustainment, support and upgrade of military aircraft, including combat and air mobility aircraft, unmanned air vehicles and related technologies. Missiles and Fire Control segment provides air and missile defense systems; fire control systems; manned and unmanned ground vehicles, and energy management solutions. Rotary and Mission Systems segment provides design, manufacture, service and support for a range of military and civil helicopters; mission systems and sensors for rotary and fixed-wing aircraft; simulation and training services, and unmanned systems and technologies, among others. Space Systems segment is engaged in the research and development, design, engineering and production of satellites, strategic and defensive missile systems and space transportation systems.

BWX Technologies Company Profile

BWX Technologies, Inc. is a manufacturer of nuclear components and a service provider. The Company’s businesses focus on the design, engineering and manufacture of precision naval nuclear components, reactors and nuclear fuel for the United States Government. Its segments include Nuclear Operations, Technical Services, Nuclear Energy and Other. It provides uranium processing and environmental site restoration services, as well as a range of products and services to customers in the nuclear power industry. Nuclear Operations engineers, designs and manufactures precision naval nuclear components and reactors for the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration’s Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Technical Services provides various services to the United States Government. Nuclear Energy designs, licenses, manufactures and delivers commercial nuclear steam generators, pressure vessels, reactor components, heat exchangers and other auxiliary equipment.