Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives $175.87 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $175.87.

A number of research firms have issued reports on LDOS. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 422.2% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $134.59 on Monday. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.