Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on LDOS. UBS Group set a $204.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Leidos Trading Up 1.7%

LDOS opened at $158.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Leidos has a 52 week low of $128.32 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The stock has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.53 and a 200-day moving average of $184.35.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The aerospace company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 32.95% and a net margin of 8.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.050-12.450 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 15.45%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total value of $576,630.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,414,500.75. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Leidos by 46.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Leidos by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Leidos to “Strong Buy,” signaling conviction from an independent analyst that supports upward momentum. Argus upgrade (via Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of Nova Scotia bought shares of LDOS, indicating institutional demand that can support the stock price. Bank of Nova Scotia purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Leidos with an “equal-weight” (hold) rating and a $165 price target — a modest ~4% upside from recent levels — which signals limited near-term upside according to their view and may cap gains. Wells Fargo initiation
• Neutral Sentiment: Market write-ups noted that LDOS outperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting the combined effect of analyst activity and the reported institutional buy. LDOS outperformance (Zacks)

About Leidos

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.