Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Short Interest Update

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a decline of 12.3% from the September 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 829,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.07. 610,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 853,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a PE ratio of 72.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a 52 week low of $90.30 and a 52 week high of $170.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.32.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Leidos will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 65.52%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,082,689.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $153,798.57. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,082,689.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 5.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,430,264 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,592,000 after purchasing an additional 188,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 156.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 39.7% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 782,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $114,102,000 after purchasing an additional 222,179 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 76.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after purchasing an additional 303,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 19.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 553,812 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,790,000 after purchasing an additional 89,406 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LDOS. Bank of America increased their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Leidos from $169.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.92.

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.