Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $160.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Leidos traded as high as $144.17 and last traded at $143.79, with a volume of 87775 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $142.62.

LDOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company’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 $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.72, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.43.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 65.52%.

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.