Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Now Covered by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $182.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock.

LDOS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.36.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $164.13 on Monday. Leidos has a twelve month low of $105.52 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.06.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.