Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Leidos, with 10 hold ratings, six buys and one strong buy; the average 12-month price target is $162.93.
• Leidos exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.26 EPS versus the $2.91 consensus and $4.56 billion in revenue, up 7.2% year over year. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $12.20–$12.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 and authorized a 20 million-share buyback, while shares recently traded at $129.54—below the average analyst target.

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.9333.

Several research firms recently commented on LDOS. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Leidos from $138.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Leidos Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $129.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.39. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $98.86 and a fifty-two week high of $205.77. The firm has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. Leidos's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.200-12.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Leidos will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.04%.

Leidos declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase 20,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Noel Geer sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,820,980.84. The trade was a 22.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Leidos during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc NYSE: LDOS is a technology, engineering and services company that supports government and commercial customers in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. The company provides mission-critical solutions involving information technology, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, systems integration, engineering and scientific research.

Its defense and intelligence activities include command-and-control systems, mission software, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions, logistics, aircraft and weapons systems support, and national security services.

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