Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $160.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Leidos traded as high as $144.17 and last traded at $143.79, with a volume of 87775 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $142.62.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,923,663 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $532,937,000 after purchasing an additional 39,174 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Leidos by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,660,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $429,501,000 after acquiring an additional 272,090 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,044,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,554,000 after buying an additional 169,351 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth $202,191,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $199,344,000 after buying an additional 45,079 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $129.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.88.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

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.