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

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.27.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock.

Leidos Trading Up 0.1 %

LDOS opened at $131.47 on Thursday. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $122.76 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $145.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Leidos by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Leidos by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 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.