Time to Worry About This Defense Dividend?

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which industrials editor/analyst Brendan Byrnes and consumer goods editor/analyst Austin Smith discuss topics across the investing world.

In today's edition, Brendan and Austin discuss defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The company is the main contractor on the biggest defense program in history, the F-35 joint strike fighter. But amid an environment of increased fiscal austerity, governments have been getting more and more leery of spending big bucks on the F-35. The Netherlands is the latest country to blink, saying it will buy fewer F-35s than planned. Brendan discusses what decreased F-35 orders mean for Lockheed, and whether the company -- with its 4.5% dividend and trading at a cheap 11 times earnings -- is a buy today.

If you're a dividend investor but are worried about the possible defense cuts, we've put together an analyst report highlighting our top nine dependable, dividend-paying stocks from various sectors. This special free report is called: "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks." You can access your complimentary copy today at no cost! Just click here to discover the winners we've picked.

At the time thisarticle was published Brendan Byrnes owns shares of United Technologies. Austin Smith owns no shares of any company mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.

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