Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) versus Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Critical Analysis

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Lockheed Martin has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridger Aerospace Group has a beta of 0.14, meaning that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

74.2% of Lockheed Martin shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.9% of Bridger Aerospace Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Lockheed Martin shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of Bridger Aerospace Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lockheed Martin and Bridger Aerospace Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lockheed Martin	$71.04 billion	1.87	$5.34 billion	$17.91	32.14
Bridger Aerospace Group	$98.61 million	1.59	-$15.57 million	($0.52)	-5.44

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lockheed Martin and Bridger Aerospace Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lockheed Martin	1	16	5	2	2.33
Bridger Aerospace Group	1	0	1	0	2.00

Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus target price of $543.82, suggesting a potential downside of 5.53%. Bridger Aerospace Group has a consensus target price of $5.25, suggesting a potential upside of 85.51%. Given Bridger Aerospace Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bridger Aerospace Group is more favorable than Lockheed Martin.

Profitability

This table compares Lockheed Martin and Bridger Aerospace Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lockheed Martin	5.73%	111.84%	11.85%
Bridger Aerospace Group	4.96%	-1.91%	2.23%

Summary

Lockheed Martin beats Bridger Aerospace Group on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Bridger Aerospace Group

Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. provides aerial wildfire management, relief and suppression, and firefighting services to federal and state government agencies in the United States. It offers fire suppression services, such as direct fire suppression aerial firefighting support services for ground crew to drop large amounts of water quickly and directly on wildfires. The company also provides aerial surveillance services, including fire suppression aircraft over an incident and tactical coordination with the incident commander through its manned and unmanned aircraft. It operates an aircraft fleet of 18 planes. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Belgrade, Montana.