Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Price Down 7.2% – Here’s What Happened

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)’s share price was down 7.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $156.53 and last traded at $149.43. Approximately 98,325 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,087,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.07.

Leidos Trading Down 5.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.29.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 156.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after acquiring an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 24,194.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,459,000 after buying an additional 375,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after acquiring an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.