Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $133.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.79 and a 200-day moving average of $153.05. Leidos has a twelve month low of $123.23 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Leidos by 510.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $144,011,000 after acquiring an additional 835,930 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,032,000 after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.