Financial Comparison: Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) & Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.6% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.2% of Lockheed Martin shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Lockheed Martin shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Virgin Galactic has a beta of 1.98, suggesting that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lockheed Martin has a beta of 0.24, suggesting that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Virgin Galactic and Lockheed Martin, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Virgin Galactic	2	3	1	0	1.83
Lockheed Martin	1	18	4	2	2.28

Virgin Galactic presently has a consensus price target of $4.33, indicating a potential upside of 29.69%. Lockheed Martin has a consensus price target of $506.67, indicating a potential upside of 4.38%. Given Virgin Galactic’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Virgin Galactic is more favorable than Lockheed Martin.

Profitability

This table compares Virgin Galactic and Lockheed Martin’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Virgin Galactic	-17,615.71%	-108.00%	-32.35%
Lockheed Martin	5.73%	111.84%	11.85%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Virgin Galactic and Lockheed Martin”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Virgin Galactic	$1.66 million	115.63	-$346.74 million	($7.47)	-0.45
Lockheed Martin	$71.04 billion	1.58	$5.34 billion	$17.91	27.10

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

Summary

Lockheed Martin beats Virgin Galactic on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., an aerospace and space travel company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and operation of spaceships and related technologies. The company engages in the design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, spaceflight operation, and post-flight maintenance of spaceflight systems for private individuals, researchers, and government agencies. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Tustin, California.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. The company operates through Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space segments. The Aeronautics segment offers combat and air mobility aircraft, unmanned air vehicles, and related technologies. The Missiles and Fire Control segment provides air and missile defense systems; tactical missiles and air-to-ground precision strike weapon systems; logistics; fire control systems; mission operations support, readiness, engineering support, and integration services; manned and unmanned ground vehicles; and energy management solutions. The Rotary and Mission Systems segment offers military and commercial helicopters, surface ships, sea and land-based missile defense systems, radar systems, sea and air-based mission and combat systems, command and control mission solutions, cyber solutions, and simulation and training solutions. The Space segment offers satellites; space transportation systems; strategic, advanced strike, and defensive systems; and classified systems and services in support of national security systems. This segment also provides network-enabled situational awareness and integrates space and ground global systems to help its customers gather, analyze, and securely distribute critical intelligence data. It serves primarily serves the U.S. government, as well as foreign military sales contracted through the U.S. government. The company was founded in 1912 and is based in Bethesda, Maryland.