Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on Leidos from $178 to $138 while keeping a buy rating, implying about 31% upside from the prior close despite the more cautious outlook.
• Other analysts have also turned more conservative: Bank of America and Wells Fargo set targets of $125, while the broader analyst consensus is now Moderate Buy with an average target of $174.58.
• Leidos recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $3.13 EPS on $4.40 billion in revenue, both above consensus estimates, even as the stock has traded well below its 52-week high.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Citigroup from $178.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 31.05% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LDOS. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $193.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $125.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.58.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.30. 264,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,270,549. The stock has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.17. Leidos has a 1 year low of $98.86 and a 1 year high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total transaction of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,855,799.28. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $197,001.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,345,686.75. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Leidos by 16,475.4% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $646,463,000 after buying an additional 4,131,706 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $318,839,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $242,464,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 998.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,097,724 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $170,718,000 after purchasing an additional 997,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Leidos by 64.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,529,261 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $241,256,000 after purchasing an additional 598,974 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos' work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.

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