Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $5.65 Million in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,645,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,053,000 after purchasing an additional 330,623 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 73,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,463,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LDOS shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.87.

Insider Activity at Leidos

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

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $138.61 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $139.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.62.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.