Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America raised Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $49.00 target price on Leonardo DRS and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leonardo DRS

In other news, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $1,471,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 328,404 shares in the company, valued at $10,738,810.80. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Dippold sold 26,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $870,408.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,249,825.40. The trade was a 27.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,354 shares of company stock worth $3,019,773. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRS. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 148.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,032,000 after acquiring an additional 106,565 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Leonardo DRS by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Leonardo DRS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Finally, McAdam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Leonardo DRS Price Performance

Shares of DRS stock opened at $41.04 on Tuesday. Leonardo DRS has a 52-week low of $22.73 and a 52-week high of $43.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.66.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The firm had revenue of $799.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Leonardo DRS’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leonardo DRS will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Leonardo DRS’s payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Leonardo DRS announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.