Tag Archives: Lockheed Martin

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Pentagon Announces $445 Million in "April Fool's" Contracts

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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One full month into a “sequester” that was supposed to gut U.S. defense spending, the Pentagon just awarded a few of its favorite contractors some $445 million in new defense contracts. And this being April Fool‘s Day, let’s make this clear: No joke.

Among the winners today were:

  • Northrop Grumman , winner of one of the larger awards with a $47.8 million firm-fixed-price contract to provide logistical support to Air Force C-20 passenger aircraft operating out of Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Sigonella Air Base in Italy, and Kaneohe Bay Air Force Base in Hawaii. This contract runs through June 31.
  • Rockwell Collins , which won a firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract worth up to $16.2 million to supply spare parts for Air Force C-17 transport planes. This contact should be completed by Jan. 31, 2018.
  • Huntington Ingalls , which got an $18.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract for “special tooling, special test equipment, and supplier related vendor support services” needed to continue building the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. Huntington should have the equipment in hand by September 2015 — the same year the Ford is expected to enter service with the U.S. Navy.
  • Lockheed Martin‘s Mission System and Training division, which won $17.1 million in a cost-plus-award-fee order under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement. Lockheed will be assisting the Navy in post-shakedown work on the new USS Fort Worth Littoral Combat Ship, designated LCS 3. Lockheed’s work should be performed by July.
  • General Dynamics‘ Electric Boat, which was awarded an $11.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract funding the purchase of onboard repair parts for Virginia-class nuclear fast attack submarines. This work should be completed by August 2016.

The article Pentagon Announces $445 Million in “April Fool’s” Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Dynamics, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Lockheed Lands $256 Million in Missile, Other Pentagon Contracts

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Lockheed Martin was awarded no fewer than five separate Department of Defense contracts Friday, worth a combined a $256.6 million. The bulk of the money came in the form of a single indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee award to support the operation of the Joint Land Component Constrictive Training Capability — a high-level military simulator for training officers at the brigade level and above. Lockheed was awarded a contract with a maximum ceiling value of $146 million to support this work through March 31, 2018.

Other, smaller awards included:

  • A $65 million contract modification on a foreign military sales contract to work on the Aegis Weapon System Modernization program in Japan. Work on this contract is expected to be complete by January 2017.
  • A second foreign military sales contract worth $19.9 million (cost-plus-incentive-fee) to support the Patriot Advanced Capability Missile Support Center‘s work in the Netherlands, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. No completion date was specified on this contract.
  • $18.7 million to provide engineering and technical support for British Trident II Missile Systems, ensuring that the U.K.’s Fleet Ballistic Missile Program is meeting “planned milestone schedules and emergent requirements.” This contract runs through March 2015.
  • $7 million in a firm-fixed-price contract to perform unspecified “weapons systems support” at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona through March 31, 2014.

The article Lockheed Lands $256 Million in Missile, Other Pentagon Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Lockheed Wins Helo Contract; Exelis Will Counter IEDs

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Thursday was a slow day for Pentagon contractors. For the most part, small, privately held companies snapped up the majority of the contracts that were available for the taking. The Department of Defense did, however, announce a pair of small (in defense contracting terms) awards to two publicly traded companies:

Lockheed Martin won $27.9 million as a modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, multi-year Foreign Military Sales contract. This contract funds Lockheed’s purchase of “long lead materials” needed to produce avionics systems and common cockpits for nine Sikorsky MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters that United Technologies is building for the Danish Government’s Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization. Lockheed’s work on this contract should be complete by June 2013.

Meanwhile, Exelis won a $24.5 million modification to a different previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This one hired Exelis to supply transmitting sets and counter measure AN/PLT-4 systems, and to perform maintenance on Navy Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW) fixed-site systems.

In essence, this is a system for jamming IEDs in Afghanistan to prevent their being exploded by radio signal. Exelis’s work on the contract should be complete by March 2014.

The article Lockheed Wins Helo Contract; Exelis Will Counter IEDs originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Lockheed Lands $68.7 Million in New Pentagon Contracts

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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The Pentagon has awarded Lockheed Martin $68.7 million in new defense contracts. Of the three contracts, the largest is a $50.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee incrementally funded contract to provide “data transport and telecommunications services” to the U.S. Army through Sept. 30, 2013.

Lockheed’s next-biggest award announced this week was an $11.8 million Foreign Military Sales award to provide maintenance and logistics support through June 30, 2015, for six Iraqi aircraft based out of the New al-Muthana Air Base in Baghdad, Iraq.

Finally, Lockheed won $6.7 million for the operational support of two K-MAX Cargo Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) deployed in operational support of the Marine Corps. The K-MAX UAS is an unmanned helicopter built jointly by Lockheed and privately held aerospace firm Kaman Aircraft — based on a helicopter design that Kaman already builds. The K-MAX is currently being used in small numbers to supply Marine detachments in Afghanistan in a trial run to see how it performs. Lockheed will be working on the instant contract through September 2013.

link

The article Lockheed Lands $68.7 Million in New Pentagon Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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How Dividends Change the Game for Boeing

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By Anders Bylund, The Motley Fool

BA Dividend Chart

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The wealth-building power of compound interest will never cease to amaze me. It’s a story of patience and attention to detail, where small, short-term differences add up to massive divergence over decades. And in the end, the biggest winners don’t always deliver the fattest share-price returns.

Aircraft builder and military contractor Boeing was a modest dividend story in the mid-2000s. Share prices were rocketing skyward, and Boeing’s annual payout bumps could barely keep up. Yields hovered just above the 1% mark for four years.

The economic crisis of 2008 hit the reset button on Boeing’s dividends. Increases were put on hold until 2012, but share prices plunged. When all is said and done, Boeing’s current 2.3% yield looks meaty in the context of the stock‘s total dividend history.

BA Dividend data by YCharts

How big of a difference can these payouts really make for income investors? You might be surprised.

Over the last decade, Boeing has crushed its peers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than tripling share prices. But the total return jumps to a quadruple helping when you reinvest dividend checks along the way.

BA data by YCharts.

What’s more, Boeing has plenty of headroom to increase its payouts further. The company spent just $1.3 billion on dividend checks over the last year while collecting $5.9 billion in free cash flows. That’s a slim 22% cash payout ratio.

By comparison, Northrop Grumman spent $535 million on dividends out of a $2.3 billion free cash pool, and Lockheed Martin ‘s dividends accounted for $1.35 billion out of just $619 million of free cash generated. Northrop’s 23% payout ratio is in the same ballpark as Boeing’s, but Lockheed cuts dividend checks faster than it can back them with fresh cash. Yes, Lockheed’s 5% yield looks a lot richer than Boeing’s 2.3%, but I’m not sure I’d bet the house on a negative cash-to-dividends ratio.

Dreamliner troubles notwithstanding, Boeing appears to be the far safer bet, in a virtual deadlock with Northrop Grumman.

Boeing is a major player in a multitrillion-dollar market in which the opportunities are massive. However, emerging competitors and the company’s execution problems have investors wondering whether Boeing will live up to its shareholder responsibilities. In our premium research report on the company, two of The Motley Fool’s best minds on industrials have collaborated to provide investors with the must-know info on Boeing. They’ll be updating the report as key news hits, so don’t miss out — simply click here now to claim your copy today.

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Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Will Lockheed Martin Help You Retire Rich?

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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Now more than ever, a comfortable retirement depends on secure, stable investments. Unfortunately, the right stocks for retirement won’t just fall into your lap. As part of an ongoing series, I’m looking today at 10 measures to show whether Lockheed Martin makes a great retirement-oriented stock.

Defense companies have been under fire for years as the threat of budget cuts at the Pentagon have hung over their heads. The recent sequestration crisis has only heightened that threat, but Lockheed Martin and its peers are taking steps to shore up their businesses and make it through the tough times. Below, we’ll revisit how Lockheed Martin does on our 10-point scale.

The right stocks for retirees
With decades to go before you need to tap your investments, you can take greater risks, weighing the chance of big losses against the potential for mind-blowing returns. But as retirement approaches, you no longer have the luxury of waiting out a downturn.

Sure, you still want good returns, but you also need to manage your risk and protect yourself against bear markets, which can maul your finances at the worst possible time. The right stocks combine both of these elements in a single investment.

When scrutinizing a stock, retirees should look for:

  • Size. Most retirees would rather not take a flyer on unproven businesses. Bigger companies may lack their smaller counterparts’ growth potential, but they do offer greater security.
  • Consistency. While many investors look for fast-growing companies, conservative investors want to see steady, consistent gains in revenue, free cash flow, and other key metrics. Slow growth won’t make headlines, but it will help prevent the kind of ugly surprises that suddenly torpedo a stock‘s share price.
  • Stock stability. Conservative retirement investors prefer investments that move less dramatically than typical stocks, and they particularly want to avoid big losses. These investments will give up some gains during bull markets, but they won’t fall as far or as fast during bear markets. Beta measures volatility, but we also want a track record of solid performance as well.
  • Valuation. No one can afford to pay too much for a stock, even if its prospects are good. Using normalized earnings multiples helps smooth out one-time effects, giving you a longer-term context.
  • Dividends. Most of all, retirees look for stocks that can provide income through dividends. Retirees want healthy payouts now and consistent dividend growth over time — as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the company’s financial health.

With those factors in mind, let’s take a closer look at Lockheed Martin.

<td …read more
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Factor

What We Want to See

Actual

Pass or Fail?

Size

Market cap > $10 billion

$30 billion

Pass

Consistency

Revenue growth > 0% in at least four of five past years

4 years

Pass
 

Free cash flow growth > 0% in at least four of past five years

3 years

Fail

Stock stability

Beta < 0.9

0.94
Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Defense Contractors Win $266 Million in Pentagon Contracts

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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The Department of Defense released its daily catalog of defense contracting awards Tuesday evening, totaling $266 million — give or take a few hundred thousand. What follows are the more significant contracts awarded to publicly traded companies:

  • Philips Electronics‘ Medical Systems subsidiary was the biggest winner, landing a fourth option year award on a pre-existing fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for the supply of patient monitoring systems, subsystems, accessories, consumables, spare/repair parts, and training to the military. Total contract value: $77.2 million, with a March 29, 2014, completion date.
  • Xerox was awarded $14.9 million under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This “modification” extends for six months (to Sept. 30) Xerox’s contract to supply and service copiers aboard Navy ships in port and at sea.
  • Lockheed Martin won not one, but two contracts — a $30.6 million contract to supply low-rate initial production units of an upgraded AN/SLQ-32(V) Electronic Warfare System under Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2, which runs through September 2014, and also a $17.2 million contract to perform engineering work on AN/SQQ-89 Anti-Submarine Warfare sonar analysis systems. The latter contract concludes in September.
  • Finally, Northrop Grumman was awarded $12.6 million to refurbish fuses on U.S. Air Force intercontinental ballistic missiles. Work on this contract is to be completed by June 30, 2014.

The article Defense Contractors Win $266 Million in Pentagon Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Is North Korea Led By a Modern Day Super-Villain?

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By Steve Symington, The Motley Fool

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Sometimes its seems like there’s just no end to North Korea‘s provocations.

To be sure, while the country has undoubtedly developed a reputation for unleashing threatening rhetoric, it seems to have achieved an entirely new level of vitriol over the past few weeks.

So far this month, for example, the reclusive nation scrapped the armistice which ended the Korean War in 1953, threatened to attack United States military bases in Japan and Guam, and — shortly before a scheduled United Nations vote on whether to enact a fresh round of crippling sanctions against the country —  vowed to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the U.S.

That’s not to mention the country’s bizarre propaganda video last week in which it envisioned the bombing of the White House and Congress, or recent reports that its diplomats are quite literally being asked to forgo their ambassadorial responsibilities to instead sell large quantities of drugs in an effort to fill North Korea‘s coffers.

Then, just this week, North Korean hackers (now there’s a term you don’t hear everyday) are suspected in recent cyber attacks which temporarily shut down around 32,000 computers and servers belonging to South Korean media and financial companies.

So who’s protecting us?
For all intents and purposes, then, given the fact that North Korea seems bent on not playing nice with others, the country increasingly looks more like a modern day super-villain than anything else.

And that’s exactly why now is a great time to take a deeper look at a few of the companies who’ve made it their business to protect our country. 

On missile defense
For one, putting aside the fact that its shares currently trade hands for less than nine times trailing earnings, Northrup Grumman  boasts arguably the most comprehensive portfolio of defense solutions our world has to offer.

In addition to building our nation’s flagship long-range B-2 stealth bombers as well as enviable unmanned drones like the Global Hawk, Northrup maintains bleeding-edge cyber security solutions, has CBRNE detection systems (which stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) currently placed around the U.S. Furthermore, Northrup is the prime contractor for our Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center, which plays a central role in the development of our nation’s Ballistic Missile Defense System.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense also awarded Lockheed Martin  a $79.7 million contract modification for its Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, bringing the total value of the contract to a whopping $331.8 million. Like Northrup, Lockheed also plays great offense as evidenced by the F-35 maker’s recent $54.3 million contract win involving its Long-Range Anti Ship Missile project.

On cybersecurity
Of course, Northrup and Lockheed aren’t the only companies paid to protect our shores; Raytheon , for its part, not only maintains interceptors, radar equipment, and space sensors for its own missile defense systems, but also also recently agreed with the Department of Homeland Security to become a provider for “enhanced cybersecurity services” in response to the U.S. government‘s recent decision to further bolster …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Pentagon Pays Northrop $433.5 Million for Drone Work

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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On Monday, the Department of Defense announced that it has awarded drone maker Northrop Grumman a contract for $433.5 million. An “(estimated) cost-plus-fixed-fee contract,” this award hires Northrop to provide logistics support for RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles through Sept. 30, 2014.

Designated a “HALE,” or high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft, the unarmed Global Hawk is a remotely operated drone designed to take the place of Lockheed Martin‘s piloted U-2 spyplane. It is capable of flying as high as 65,000 feet above sea level at speeds of up to 400 mph, has a range of 12,000 nautical miles, and can stay aloft as long as 35 hours.

 
 

The article Pentagon Pays Northrop $433.5 Million for Drone Work originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Lockheed Wins $40 Million to Begin Japan F-35 Work

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Looks like Japan is going to get those fighter jets it’s been asking for. On Monday, the Department of Defense announced that it has awarded Lockheed Martin a $40.2 million fixed-price-incentive (firm-target), advance-acquisition foreign military sales contract. (Hopefully, they’re not charging extra for adjectives.)

The object of the contract: to fund Lockheed’s purchase of “long lead-time parts, materials and components required for the delivery of four Low Rate Initial Production Lot VIII F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Takeoff and Landing aircraft for the government of Japan.”

Japan has been asking for years for the right to purchase F-22 Raptor fighter jets from the U.S. to beef up its air defenses against a bellicose North Korea and an increasingly technologically advanced China, which reportedly has two “fifth-generation” stealth fighters of its own in the works — the Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-31. The U.S., however, canceled the F-22 program without ever approving a single sale to Japan, leaving the F-35 as the only remaining U.S.-built fifth-generation fighter available to buy.

Fortunately, it looks like Japan will get to buy this one. The country has 42 of the planes on order already. Lockheed is expected to wrap up its advance parts purchases by 2014, with production to begin thereafter.

 
 
 

The article Lockheed Wins $40 Million to Begin Japan F-35 Work originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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SAIC Earnings: An Early Look

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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Earnings season is just about over, with almost all companies already having reported their quarterly results. But there are still a few companies left to report, and SAIC is about to release its quarterly earnings. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks releasing their quarterly reports is to anticipate how they’ll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you’ll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

SAIC plays a vital role in the way that the U.S. and foreign governments gather intelligence and respond to threats, providing technical services like engineering, research, and systems integration for the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with SAIC over the past quarter and what we’re likely to see in its quarterly report on Tuesday.

Stats on SAIC

Analyst EPS Estimate

$0.52

Year-Ago EPS

($0.49)

Revenue Estimate

$2.71 billion

Change From Year-Ago Revenue

8.7%

Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters

1

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will SAIC keep investors safe this quarter?
Over the past few months, analysts have given mixed signals about SAIC. They’ve boosted their earnings projections for the just-ended quarter by a penny per share, but they’ve reduced their fiscal 2014 calls by $0.02 per share. The share price, though, has been unequivocally positive, rising 12% since mid-December.

At first, it may sound surprising to hear that a company so intimately linked to the U.S. government would be doing well. With sequestration having taken effect, defense-spending cuts have hurt companies throughout the industry. Even companies with major contracts are feeling the pinch, as Boeing has had to face the potential for cuts to its KC-46 tanker project. Lockheed Martin has received substantial criticism recently about its F-35 fighter contract and the cost overruns that have plagued it over the years.

But SAIC has worked its way into essential niche areas. In particular, cybersecurity has become a hot area in the defense and intelligence community, especially in light of accusations that Chinese hackers are trying to penetrate government and private-sector networks to gain valuable information. With SAIC working with Intel‘s McAfee division to develop stronger firewalls to withstand cloud-based attacks, major defense contractors are looking to incorporate cybersecurity solutions into their broader contracts, which could give SAIC more subcontract work in the future.

Last month, SAIC announced plans to split into two companies. One will deal with national security, health care, and engineering and will be named Leidos. The other will continue to carry the SAIC name and concentrate on technical services and enterprise information technology.

In its quarterly report, watch for SAIC to give more commentary about the effect of sequestration on its business, as well …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Pentagon Hands Out $49.7 Million Worth of Small Contracts

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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On Thursday, the Department of Defense announced a series of small (in defense contracting terms) contract awards to a handful of publicly traded companies.

Among them are the following:

The largest contract went to Lockheed Martin , which was awarded $27.4 million via an “option” extension of an existing contract. The option funds Lockheed’s purchase of long-lead materials needed to perform receiver and antenna upgrades on AN/SLQ-32(V) Electronic Warfare Systems. This work is classified as part of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2. Work on the instant contract modification is to be completed by March 2014.

ManTech International won a $15.3 million contract modification to perform unspecified “systems engineering and integration support” work for the Space and Missile Systems, Launch and Range Systems directorate. This contract is to be completed by March 22, 2014. 

Finally, General Dynamics‘ Armament and Technical Products division was awarded $7 million to supply 19 M61A2 20mm Lightweight Gatling Gun Systems for installation on F/A-18 E/F fighter aircraft. Completion date is March 2015.

The article Pentagon Hands Out $49.7 Million Worth of Small Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and ManTech International. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Lockheed Aegis Contract Value Passes $331 Million

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The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Lockheed Martin a $79.7 million modification, increasing the funding limit on a contract originally given to the company in August 2010 .

The contract in question hires Lockheed to install, integrate, and test performance of the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) at the Pacific Missile Range facility in Kauai, Hawaii, and also at a facility in Deveselu, Romania.

Aegis Ashore, which is run by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, is described as being the land-based component of a project to beef up the shipborne Aegis air defense system into the much broader Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. If completed, the system is expected to use Standard Missile-3 missiles, plus AN/SPY-1 radar systems, to defeat both short- and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats.

Originally funded for $69.8 million in 2010, subsequent increases in the AAMDS budget — including this latest contract — have lifted the total contract value for Lockheed past $331.8 million. Lockheed is expected to complete performance of this latest segment of the contract by July 31, 2015. However, it can expect to continue collecting revenues from work on this system far longer than that. Installation of the AAMDS system is not expected to be complete before 2021.

link

The article Lockheed Aegis Contract Value Passes $331 Million originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Pension Funds Are Fleeing Stocks. Should You?

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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In trying to chart your own course to invest for your retirement, it’s useful to look at what major companies are doing with their pension-fund money to try to achieve the same goal for tens of thousands of employees. Although each company’s pension fund has its own unique set of circumstances to consider in making its investment decisions, pension funds nevertheless share the same need to invest both for current income and long-term growth that retirement savers and retirees have to satisfy in their personal finances.

Lately, as the stock market has pushed toward new highs, many individual investors who’ve been on the sidelines have finally seen the health of the market as a sign to get back into stocks. Yet among pension funds, the recent trend seems to be the opposite, as many major companies are cutting back on their stock allocations in favor of more conservative and predictable investments.

Playing it safer
Ford is the latest company to make changes to its pension-fund allocation. Ford officials told analysts last week that the automaker would slowly move more of its assets toward bonds and other fixed-income securities.

But you shouldn’t conclude that Ford is basing its move on a bearish bet on stocks. Rather, the motivation for shifting more money to bonds has more to do with the complex calculations that determine whether a pension fund is adequately funded. Several companies, including Lockheed Martin and United Parcel Service , have followed suit in boosting their pension-fund bond portfolios.

Specifically, the problem that Ford and other pension funds have faced in recent years is that falling interest rates have increased the present value of their future obligations to workers and retirees, widening the deficits between what they owe and the assets they have on hand. Ford said that falling rates increased its pension deficit by $8.9 billion in 2012, dwarfing the $1.8 billion it earned in investment returns and the $3.8 billion it contributed to the fund. In the future, a move of just a single percentage point in the benchmark it tracks for pension-funding purposes would produce a change of between $2.3 billion and $2.8 billion in its funding status.

Why you’re different from a pension fund
By moving more money into bonds, pension funds are able to match up assets with liabilities more effectively. Because bonds have fixed maturity dates, you can tailor bond purchases to provide exactly the cash flows you’ll want in the future. In addition, because bond prices move with interest rate changes, bonds held in a pension-fund portfolio tend to offset the impact that rate changes have on funding requirements.

But the big difference you face in your investing is that pension funds can always go back to their parent companies and demand more money to meet shortfalls. Indeed, given the huge shortfall that Ford faces, it plans to contribute another $5 billion to its pension plan this year. General Electric …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

United Launch Alliance Sends Third Rocket of 2013 Into Orbit

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By Dan Carroll, The Motley Fool

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Boeing and Lockheed-Martin‘s space-launch joint venture, the United Launch Alliance, or ULA, successfully launched its third rocket of 2013 into orbit yesterday. An Atlas V rocket carried a Space-Based Infrared System satellite into orbit on behalf of the U.S. Air Force, the second such satellite to be deployed after the first reached orbit in 2011.

According to a press release from ULA, this marked the 37th Atlas V mission in company history and the 69th ULA launch overall.

The Atlas V 401 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, or EELV, delivered the payload as part of an initiative to launch Defense Department and other governmental projects into orbit. ULA touts its EELV program as both adhering to schedule and delivering cost advantages over other launch systems.

The article United Launch Alliance Sends Third Rocket of 2013 Into Orbit originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Carroll has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Pentagon Awards Lockheed $64 Million in Missile, F-35 Contracts

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Defense contractor Lockheed Martin won a pair of Pentagon contracts Wednesday, valued at $64.1 million in aggregate.

The larger of the two contracts, a $54.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to a previously awarded contract, calls on Lockheed to conduct additional surface-launch risk-reduction work before executing a pair of planned flight demonstrations under the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, demonstration program. LRASM is a joint DARPA/Office of Naval Research project aimed at developing new standoff anti-ship strike weapon technologies. Lockheed should complete its risk-reduction work by Dec. 31, 2014.

The second, smaller contact is a not-to-exceed $9.8 million “undefinitized” modification to a previously awarded low-rate initial production, or LRIP, contract. Lockheed will be asked to perform advance acquisition work on the Autonomic Logistics Information Systems — described as “the IT backbone” of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet — installed in LRIP “Lot 6” F-35s that Lockheed is producing, destined for the Royal Australian Air Force. Lockheed has a targeted completion date of January 2019 for this work.

The article Pentagon Awards Lockheed $64 Million in Missile, F-35 Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Spirit AeroSystems Poaches a CEO from Lockheed

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Airplane parts manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems lost a CEO today — and gained a new one.

Exiting the CEO‘s chair is Jeff Turner, who has served as Spirit’s chief executive officer since its very creation eight years ago. (Turner will remain on the Board of Directors). Taking his place is Larry A. Lawson, just poached from his former job as head of Lockheed Martin‘s aeronautics business, where he also ran the company’s F-35 fighter jet program.

Lawson joins Spirit at what may be a propitious time. The company recently reported better-than-expected sales and earnings. Meanwhile, a potentially damaging strike at key customer Boeing has been averted — twice! — as both halves of the Boeing workforce represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace have agreed to renew their contract with the company.

With Boeing resuming work on its 787 airliner, and its engineers and technical employees committed to staying on the job, a key risk has been removed from Spirit’s business model, and new CEO Lawson has one less thing to worry about.

Spirit shares climbed 0.5% in response to the new Monday, closing at $18.89.

The article Spirit AeroSystems Poaches a CEO from Lockheed originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Spirit AeroSystems Holdings and owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Lockheed Loses an Exec, Promotes 2 More

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Lockheed Martin aeronautics head Larry A. Lawson’s life just got a little easier.

On Tuesday, Lawson confirmed that he’s resigning from Lockheed to take up a new job at airplane-parts maker Spirit AeroSystems . In the process, Lawson leaves behind the troubled F-35 fighter jet program and can let go of worries over Defense Department budget cuts as well.

Sadly, somebody still has to worry about these things, and today, Lockheed named the two lucky individuals who will be responsible for figuring them out. Taking Lawson‘s place as head of aeronautics at Lockheed is F-35 program head Orlando Carvalho. Taking his place as head of the F-35 program is Lorraine Martin, Carvalho’s former second-in-command.

Despite losing a key exec to Spirit, Lockheed shareholders seem confident their company remains in good hands. Investors responded to news of the new appointments by bidding up Lockheed shares 0.6% Tuesday, to close at $92.87.

The article Lockheed Loses an Exec, Promotes 2 More originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Spirit AeroSystems Holdings and owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Lockheed Moves Into Water Desalination Industry

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Faced with a flagging defense sector, Lockheed Martin‘s efforts to diversify itself continue.

In recent months, the company’s begun exploring plans to build civilian dirigibles and enter civilian aircraft maintenance. Last week, it announced a move into the LNG industry. Yesterday, the company announced that it’s been awarded a patent for a new invention aimed at satisfying “the growing global demand for potable water.”

Lockheed says its Perforene material offers a molecular filtration solution capable of filtering out sodium, chlorine, and other ions from sea water and other non-drinkable water. Developed by adding holes of a nanometer or smaller in diameter to a grapheme membrane one atom thick, Chief Technical Officer Dr. Ray O. Johnson calls Perforene a “game-changer for the industry,” and says it has the potential to filter salt water “at a fraction of the cost of industry-standard reverse osmosis systems.” Lockheed says a Peforene membrane can be tailored to other applications, including capturing minerals

In its press release, the company said the new material is just one example of Lockheed’s efforts to find new uses for the advanced materials of its core aircraft and spacecraft markets — which suggests Lockheed may have other derivative ideas up its sleeve.

In the meantime, the company’s seeking partners interested in commercializing this one. 

link

The article Lockheed Moves Into Water Desalination Industry originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Is Lockheed Martin a Cash King?

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By Jim Royal, The Motley Fool

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As an investor, it pays to follow the cash. If you figure out how a company moves its money, you might eventually find some of that cash flowing into your pockets.

In this series, we’ll highlight four companies in an industry and compare their “cash king margins” over time, trying to determine which has the greatest likelihood of putting cash back in your pocket. After all, a company can pay dividends and buy back stock only after it’s actually received cash — not just when it books those accounting figments known as “profits.”

Today, let’s look at Lockheed Martin and three of its peers.

The cash king margin
Looking at a company’s cash flow statement can help you determine whether its free cash flow backs up its reported profit. Companies that can create 10% or more free cash flow from their revenue can be powerful compounding machines for your portfolio. A sustained high cash king margin can be a good predictor of long-term stock returns.

To find the cash king margin, divide the free cash flow from the cash flow statement by sales:

Cash king margin = Free cash flow / sales

Let’s take McDonald’s as an example. In the four quarters ending in December, the restaurateur generated $6.97 billion in operating cash flow. It invested about $3.05 billion in property, plant, and equipment. To calculate free cash flow, subtract McDonald’s investment from its operating cash flow. That leaves us with $3.92 billion in free cash flow, which the company can save for future expenditures or distribute to shareholders.

Taking McDonald’s sales of $25.5 billion over the same period, we can figure that the company has a cash king margin of about 14% — a nice high number. In other words, for every dollar of sales, McDonald’s produces $0.14 in free cash.

Ideally, we’d like to see the cash king margin top 10%. The best blue chips can notch numbers greater than 20%, making them true cash dynamos. But some businesses, including many types of retailing, just can’t sustain such margins.

We’re also looking for companies that can consistently increase their margins over time, which indicates that their competitive position is improving. Erratic swings in margins could signal a deteriorating business or perhaps some financial skullduggery. You’ll have to dig deeper to discover the reason.

Four companies
Here are the cash king margins for four industry peers over a few periods.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Company

Cash King Margin (TTM)

1 Year Ago

3 Years Ago

5 Years Ago

Lockheed Martin

1.3%

7%

6%

7.9%

Raytheon

6.6%

7.1%

9.8%

4.2%

General Dynamics

7.1%

8.4%

7.7%

9%

Northrop Grumman

9.2%

6.1%