Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $179.07.

A number of research analysts have commented on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 24,194.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,459,000 after acquiring an additional 375,495 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 76.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,942,000 after acquiring an additional 303,775 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $155.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. Leidos has a 52-week low of $107.73 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $157.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

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.