Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives $175.87 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $175.87.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LDOS. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Leidos Stock Up 1.3 %

Leidos stock opened at $134.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos has a 1-year low of $123.23 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, 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 value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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. This trade represents 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 Trading of Leidos

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Leidos by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.