Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.27.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $130.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.95. The company has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos has a 52 week low of $122.76 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 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.