Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and a professional services contractor GCS Inc. won a task order, worth $400 million, from the General Services Administration (GSA) for Federal Acquisition Service.
Per the contract, McLean, VA-based GCS will work as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin providing operation, maintenance, enhancement and development services for the CIO Applications, Maintenance, Enhancements, and Operations program. The GSA is engaged in operational efficiency and enhancement of federal and government services toward the public.
The Lockheed–GCS team will primarily modernize specialized applications, systems and platforms as required by GSA's Federal Acquisition Service. The companies will also perform technical architecture development, security and software development services.
Lockheed Martin is the largest U.S. defense contractor with a platform-centric focus that guarantees a steady inflow of follow-on orders from a leveraged presence in the Army, Air Force, Navy and IT programs. In recent times, the company has been flying high in terms of winning contracts. These deals are a testimony to the wide range of products at the disposal of Lockheed Martin.
This defense behemoth delivered positive earnings surprises in the last 4 quarters with an average beat of 20.23%. Encouraging first-quarter 2014 numbers led management to raise its operating profit, earnings per share and cash from operations forecast for 2014. The international mix is also expected to rise to 20% of total sales in 2014.
Management also returns a substantial portion of its free cash flow to shareholders through share repurchases and incremental dividends. First quarter 2014 free cash flow was a record $2.0 billion of which 78% or $1.6 billion was returned to shareholders.
Lockheed Martin sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Besides Lockheed Martin, other companies in the in the aerospace/defense sector that are worth considering include Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) and Embraer SA (ERJ). The three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment