Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on LDOS. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company 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 reduced their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $130.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Leidos has a 1 year low of $123.22 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $143.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.63.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Leidos by 510.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $144,011,000 after buying an additional 835,930 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,942,000 after buying an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 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.