Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at TD Cowen

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Leidos in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $144.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.59. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. 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 firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,912,000 after buying an additional 42,358 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $351,007,000 after buying an additional 53,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 156.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after acquiring an additional 691,575 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.