Royal Bank of Canada Raises Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target to $140.00

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $120.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised Leidos from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Leidos from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised their target price on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet raised Leidos from a c rating to a b rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $141.17.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $141.65 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos has a 12 month low of $76.58 and a 12 month high of $143.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 65.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, 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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,923,663 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $532,937,000 after purchasing an additional 39,174 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Leidos by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,660,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $429,501,000 after purchasing an additional 272,090 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Leidos by 5.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,044,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,554,000 after purchasing an additional 169,351 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $202,191,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Leidos by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $199,344,000 after purchasing an additional 45,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.