Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $218.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted 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 lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.77.

Leidos Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $185.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $94.57 and a fifty-two week high of $188.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $161.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.56.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos will post 8.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 47.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 251.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 122.5% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Company Profile

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.