Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.87.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $129.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. Leidos has a 52 week low of $123.22 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.59 and its 200 day moving average is $156.16. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Research analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction 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 $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Leidos by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its holdings in Leidos by 36.4% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 6,395 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Leidos by 100.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 4,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 21.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,992,000 after buying an additional 9,710 shares during the last quarter. 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.