Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Given New $205.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

Leidos Stock Up 1.5 %

Leidos stock opened at $166.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.57. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its 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 return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. 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 institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by 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.