Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,500,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the July 15th total of 1,410,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 891,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.25.

Leidos Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of LDOS traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.02. 494,430 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,091. Leidos has a twelve month low of $89.22 and a twelve month high of $155.45. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 63.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 65.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total transaction of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Leidos news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total transaction of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,082,689.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,934 shares of company stock valued at $429,655 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Leidos in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 251.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.