Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives $176.27 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $176.27.

Several brokerages have issued reports on LDOS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,225,784,000 after purchasing an additional 84,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Leidos by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $945,458,000 after acquiring an additional 56,066 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,393,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $487,649,000 after acquiring an additional 27,410 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Up 1.2 %

LDOS traded up $1.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $132.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,752,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,481. Leidos has a one year low of $120.98 and a one year high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock's 50 day moving average is $146.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.23. The company has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. As a group, analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is 18.22%.

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.