Hennessy Advisors Inc. Takes $2.35 Million Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,400 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $2,348,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 buying an additional 682,532 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Leidos by 435.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,032,000 after acquiring an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $79,053,000 after purchasing an additional 330,623 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $148.29. The stock had a trading volume of 759,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,447. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business's fifty day moving average is $148.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.56. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.63.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is 16.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LDOS. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total value of $193,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Leidos 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.