Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $179.07.

A number of brokerages have commented on LDOS. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Leidos Stock Down 2.0 %

Leidos stock opened at $145.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.23. Leidos has a twelve month low of $108.95 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after buying an additional 691,575 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after acquiring an additional 522,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 24,194.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,459,000 after purchasing an additional 375,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 76.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after purchasing an additional 303,775 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.