Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LDOS. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.27.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $136.82 on Wednesday. Leidos has a 12 month low of $118.40 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The company has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 18.22%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 510.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Leidos by 435.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,032,000 after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.