Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Price Target Cut by Citigroup

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $161.00 to $141.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 24.07% from the stock’s previous close.

LDOS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $210.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.43.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS traded down $3.04 on Wednesday, hitting $113.65. 971,480 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,317,110. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.14. Leidos has a twelve month low of $98.86 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.58.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%.The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to buyback 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel Geer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter worth $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,430,000 after buying an additional 161,407 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 16,475.4% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Leidos by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,193,000 after acquiring an additional 47,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 998.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,097,724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $170,718,000 after acquiring an additional 997,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology, engineering and services company that provides solutions to government and commercial customers. The company operates primarily in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets, supporting customers with mission-critical systems, digital modernization, cybersecurity, data analytics and technical services.

Its offerings include defense and intelligence technologies, command-and-control systems, transportation and infrastructure solutions, health information technology, aviation and security services, and scientific and engineering support.