StockNews.com Upgrades Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) to Strong-Buy

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LDOS. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.17.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS opened at $141.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.06, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.66. 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 has a 12-month low of $76.58 and a 12-month high of $143.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.53.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of Leidos 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,923,663 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $532,937,000 after buying an additional 39,174 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 6.2% in 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 holdings in shares of 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 valued at $280,554,000 after purchasing an additional 169,351 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $202,191,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $199,344,000 after buying an additional 45,079 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.