Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $182.00.

LDOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS stock opened at $145.58 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.64. Leidos has a twelve month low of $106.38 and a twelve month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Leidos will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.22%.

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.