Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) Receives $53.60 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.60.

A number of analysts have weighed in on DRS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Leonardo DRS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Leonardo DRS to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Leonardo DRS Trading Down 4.2%

NASDAQ DRS opened at $39.01 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.20. Leonardo DRS has a one year low of $32.43 and a one year high of $50.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.35.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $913.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $903.27 million. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 12.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Leonardo DRS will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leonardo DRS’s payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leonardo DRS

In related news, CEO John Baylouny sold 36,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,665,630.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,591,606.45. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Pamela Morrow sold 11,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.13, for a total transaction of $521,025.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,166.63. The trade was a 52.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,228 shares of company stock valued at $3,171,794. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,717,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,091,000 after acquiring an additional 34,858 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,883,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,988,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,965,000 after acquiring an additional 153,697 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 3,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,940,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,843,233 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Leonardo DRS by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,255,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,887,000 after purchasing an additional 981,956 shares in the last quarter. 18.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS is a U.S.-based defense technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. The firm specializes in developing and integrating mission-critical systems for military and government customers, with a primary focus on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Its core offerings encompass advanced sensors, targeting systems, radars and electronic warfare solutions designed to enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness across land, sea and air domains.

The company’s portfolio includes naval combat management systems, unmanned vehicle sensors, power generation and distribution equipment, and training and simulation solutions.