Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LDOS. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

Leidos Trading Down 1.5 %

LDOS stock opened at $137.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $123.22 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.