Brokerages Set Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Target Price at $178.07

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $176.79.

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair cut shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Leidos by 510.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $144,011,000 after acquiring an additional 835,930 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,032,000 after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:LDOS traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.39. 1,809,308 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,187,110. Leidos has a twelve month low of $123.23 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.58. The company has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, equities analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.