Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,860,000 shares, a growth of 73.9% from the February 13th total of 3,370,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Leidos Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $134.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. Leidos has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.03.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’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 value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair cut shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.87.

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.