Defense contractor Raytheon Company (RTN) on Thursday posted better-than-expected first quarter earnings results on higher revenue and lifted its full-year forecast.

The Waltham, MA-based company reported first quarter net income of $448 million, or $1.33 per share, compared with $384 million, or $1.06 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, adjusted profit was $1.46 per share.

Revenue fell 1.6% from last year to $5.94 billion.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a much lower profit of $1.16 per share, on smaller revenue of $5.77 billion.

Looking ahead, RTN upped its full-year 2012 earnings outlook to a range of $5 to $5.15 per share, up from a prior forecast of $4.90 to $5.05. Analysts are currently looking for $5.06 per share for the year.

Raytheon shares were inactive in premarket trading Thursday.

The Bottom Line
We recently began recommending shares of Raytheon (RTN) back on Mar.23, when the stock was trading at $51.96. The company has a 3.78% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $52.91.

Raytheon Company (RTN) is a “Recommended” dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.