Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Trading Up 8.9% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) shares were up 8.9% on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $40.24 and last traded at $40.27. Approximately 485,091 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 676,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.96.

The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $799.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.72 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DRS shares. Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leonardo DRS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.33.

Insider Activity

In other Leonardo DRS news, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.81, for a total transaction of $122,844.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 74,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,603,962.05. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eric Salzman sold 3,477 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total value of $120,269.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $458,732.58. This trade represents a 20.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 99,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,262,887. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Leonardo DRS by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Leonardo DRS by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Leonardo DRS Stock Up 4.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.42. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73.

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.