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

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $191.23.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 156.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after buying an additional 691,575 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1,184.3% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,213,000 after purchasing an additional 462,792 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 375,495 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after purchasing an additional 303,775 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Leidos by 138.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,840,000 after purchasing an additional 300,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 1.8 %

LDOS opened at $186.32 on Tuesday. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $102.21 and a fifty-two week high of $188.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $163.68 and its 200 day moving average is $152.00.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.