William Blair Issues Optimistic Outlook for Leidos Earnings

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair raised their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Leidos in a report released on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $2.13 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.10. The consensus estimate for Leidos' current full-year earnings is $8.96 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Leidos' FY2025 earnings at $10.21 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LDOS. Bank of America lifted their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.77.

Leidos Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of LDOS stock traded down $2.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.16. 1,354,088 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 855,899. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $162.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.78. Leidos has a 1-year low of $94.57 and a 1-year high of $188.36. The company has a market cap of $24.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its position in Leidos by 6.5% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Somerset Trust Co grew its stake in Leidos by 3.5% in the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Leidos's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

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.