StockNews.com Downgrades Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) to Buy

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet raised shares of Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.42.

Leidos Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of LDOS opened at $130.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.80, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.83. Leidos has a twelve month low of $76.58 and a twelve month high of $131.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.