Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.42.

A number of analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet upgraded Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Leidos from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Buffington Mohr McNeal bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 464,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $60,879,000 after buying an additional 16,446 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth approximately $399,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth approximately $305,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $123.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Leidos has a 1-year low of $76.58 and a 1-year high of $131.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $126.55 and its 200 day moving average is $112.19.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 107.04%.

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.