Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.42.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Argus raised their price objective on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. TheStreet raised Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Leidos from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 31,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Leidos by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 10,858 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Leidos by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,756 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $128.77 on Friday. Leidos has a 12 month low of $76.58 and a 12 month high of $131.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.22. The stock has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 90.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.04%.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.