Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $176.27.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Leidos Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $132.22 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $146.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos has a twelve month low of $120.98 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 101.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Leidos by 3,896.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Leidos by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 72,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,862,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.