Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LDOS. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.23.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,212,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,753. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G 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 has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $135.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.79.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 682,532 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,032,000 after acquiring an additional 377,756 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.