Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.87.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LDOS. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Remove Ads

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $133.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 639,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,789. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.32. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.22 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IronOak Wealth LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth approximately $883,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $11,135,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $3,449,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $525,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

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.