Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Given New $210.00 Price Target at Argus

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective hoisted by Argus from $185.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on Leidos and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Baird R W cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.21.

Leidos Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE LDOS opened at $187.37 on Wednesday. Leidos has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. The trade was a 32.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 3.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,528,630 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $556,677,000 after acquiring an additional 111,813 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,909,142 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $460,203,000 after purchasing an additional 103,321 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,336,222 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $315,250,000 after purchasing an additional 536,452 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Leidos by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,020 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $253,262,000 after purchasing an additional 170,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Leidos in the second quarter valued at approximately $261,501,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.