Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Trading Up 5.1% – Here’s Why

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) shares were up 5.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $139.94 and last traded at $141.45. Approximately 268,721 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,058,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.87.

Leidos Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $140.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.74. The stock has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 422.2% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Leidos by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.