Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target to $199.00

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $199.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $149.38 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.84 and a 200-day moving average of $157.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos has a twelve month low of $107.73 and a twelve month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Analysts forecast that Leidos will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 18.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.