Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $182.00.

LDOS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $145.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.64. Leidos has a twelve month low of $106.38 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.53 and a 200 day moving average of $157.78.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.22%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % 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 Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Leidos during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.