Carderock Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Carderock Capital Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc., purchasing 20,497 shares valued at approximately $2.77 million in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of sentiment, with Robert W. Baird downgrading Leidos to a "neutral" rating while Stifel Nicolaus set a "buy" rating with a target price of $178.00.
• Leidos has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, with an annualized amount of $1.60 and a yield of 0.9%, payable on September 30th to investors of record on September 15th.

Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,497 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $2,766,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $267,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,841 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 263.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 2,940.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 16.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,679 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Baird R W lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Stock Up 0.8%

LDOS opened at $180.41 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $171.29 and a 200-day moving average of $153.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.12%.

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.

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