Should You Invest in Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT)?

Ariel Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Ariel Focus Fund” third-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. Ariel Focus Fund returned -4.71% in the third quarter, trailing the Russell 1000 Value Index which lost -0.78%, and the S&P 500 Index which gained +0.58%. Year-to-date, Ariel Focus Fund has earned +15.44% compared to +16.14% for the Russell 1000 Value Index and +15.92% for the S&P 500. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

Ariel Focus Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) and discussed its stance on the firm. Lockheed Martin Corporation is a Bethesda, Maryland-based aerospace company with a $94.9 billion market capitalization. LMT delivered a -3.05% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -3.34%. The stock closed at $344.14 per share on December 17, 2021.

Here is what Ariel Focus Fund has to say about Lockheed Martin Corporation  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Conversely, leading global defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) was the greatest detractor over the trailing one-year period due to pared back F-35 delivery plans and weaker than expected 2022 sales guidance. Nonetheless, we remain confident in LMT’s positioning as they continue to secure a steady stream of lucrative contracts and benefit from a sizeable backlog. Looking ahead, management is focused on driving innovation, underscored by the pending acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne enabling vertical integration in propulsion systems for space and missile defense. At
today’s valuation, LMT is currently trading at a 32% discount to our estimate of private market value.”

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Based on our calculations, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. LMT was in 51 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 58 funds in the previous quarter. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) delivered a 0.93% return in the past 3 months.

Earlier this year, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on LMT in another article. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.