Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a growth of 28.2% from the October 31st total of 1,490,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Leidos by 100.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Leidos by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its stake in Leidos by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after buying an additional 6,395 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,992,000 after buying an additional 9,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 188.2% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 5,403 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $165.40 on Monday. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.94. The company has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. Bank of America increased their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.36.

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.