Hancock Whitney Corp Buys 5,723 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, acquiring an additional 5,723 shares in Q1, bringing its total to 48,938 shares worth approximately $6.6 million.
• Leidos reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.21 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 2.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend, with a yield of 0.9%, set to be paid on September 30th, indicating a healthy financial position and commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,938 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Leidos were worth $6,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,157 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $159,342,000 after acquiring an additional 34,328 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 3.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,753 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,340,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 19.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 88,927 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $12,404,000 after buying an additional 14,246 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Leidos by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,900,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth approximately $127,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LDOS shares. Baird R W lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $183.31.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $177.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.81. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $202.90. 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 (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,804,892.85. This represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,852,525 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.69% 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.

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