Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Shares Up 6.3% Following Earnings Beat

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $32.39 and last traded at $31.39. Approximately 189,849 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 599,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.54.

The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $981.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $942.18 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 6.23%.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leonardo DRS

In other Leonardo DRS news, Director Eric Salzman sold 3,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total value of $120,269.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $458,732.58. This represents a 20.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.90, for a total value of $112,575.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,498,854.60. This trade represents a 4.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 150,089 shares of company stock valued at $5,178,619 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,934,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,377,000 after purchasing an additional 263,002 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 183.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,457,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236,661 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,915,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,061,000 after purchasing an additional 51,014 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,505,000 after purchasing an additional 278,541 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,432,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 166,936 shares during the period. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leonardo DRS Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.11.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.