Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.83.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRS shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Leonardo DRS Price Performance

NASDAQ DRS opened at $31.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.98. Leonardo DRS has a 52 week low of $19.88 and a 52 week high of $37.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.79.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $981.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $942.18 million. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Research analysts predict that Leonardo DRS will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.57%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leonardo DRS news, Director Eric Salzman sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total transaction of $120,269.43. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,262 shares in the company, valued at $458,732.58. This trade represents a 20.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.90, for a total transaction of $112,575.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,334 shares in the company, valued at $2,498,854.60. The trade was a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,535 shares of company stock worth $1,941,939. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 1.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Leonardo DRS by 1.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 33,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.