Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $132.42.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $126.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.94. Leidos has a 1 year low of $76.58 and a 1 year high of $131.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $202,191,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 10.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,010,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,381,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,772 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 320.1% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,246,768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $114,902,000 after acquiring an additional 949,955 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 9,164.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 578,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,623,000 after acquiring an additional 572,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 36.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,687,000 after acquiring an additional 479,906 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.