Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Rating Lowered by TD Cowen

TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $165.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $200.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LDOS. Barclays lifted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.07.

Leidos Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $145.75 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.75. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $107.73 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.22%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 55.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the second quarter worth about $126,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth about $413,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.