Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LDOS. William Blair cut Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.23.

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Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $141.34. 608,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,199,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Leidos has a 1-year low of $123.23 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $135.08 and its 200-day moving average is $151.95. The stock has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 414.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 30,532 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,977,000 after buying an additional 24,601 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Leidos by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,763 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Leidos by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $93,891,000 after purchasing an additional 199,686 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $546,912,000 after purchasing an additional 42,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.8% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 69,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $11,357,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.