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

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.07.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LDOS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Leidos by 1,460.0% during the third 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 stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Leidos in the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Leidos in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $155.19 on Friday. Leidos has a 52 week low of $107.73 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $157.02 and its 200-day moving average is $158.02. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

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.