Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LDOS. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Leidos in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.27.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS traded down $3.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $126.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,569,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,567,188. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.65. 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 12 month low of $123.22 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other 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 transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 15.89 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 84,003 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Leidos by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position 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 worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 27,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after buying an additional 682,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

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.