Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $131.78 and last traded at $131.14, with a volume of 56564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.36.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised Leidos from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.42.

Leidos Stock Up 6.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.53.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s 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 $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s 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 $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 3.3% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Leidos by 276.5% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 304,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,915,000 after acquiring an additional 223,613 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Finally, Renaissance Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 1.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 66,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. 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.