Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $145.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Leidos traded as high as $130.73 and last traded at $130.32, with a volume of 48136 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.36.

Several other research firms have also commented on LDOS. TheStreet raised shares of Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $129.91.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,563,014 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,553,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552,908 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $202,191,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 320.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,246,768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $114,902,000 after buying an additional 949,955 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Leidos by 9,164.4% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 578,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,623,000 after buying an additional 572,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $166,687,000 after buying an additional 479,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $121.31 and its 200-day moving average is $108.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.70.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.04%.

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.