Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Trading Up 5.1% – Still a Buy?

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) rose 5.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $139.94 and last traded at $141.45. Approximately 268,721 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,058,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.87.

Leidos Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.42 and a 200-day moving average of $155.01.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Leidos by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 23.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,869 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,658 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Leidos by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.