Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 3,179 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Leidos Holdings by 13.4% during the second quarter, now owning 26,852 shares valued at approximately $4.2 million.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their holdings in Leidos, resulting in institutional investors owning 76.12% of the company’s stock.
• Leidos reported earnings of $3.21 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 2.9% revenue increase year-over-year.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 13.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,852 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,179 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Leidos were worth $4,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in Leidos by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Leidos by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 5,134 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Leidos by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Leidos by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 732 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LDOS. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on shares of Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,804,892.85. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:LDOS opened at $197.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.71. 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. The company's 50 day moving average is $180.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.81.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. Leidos's 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. Analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Leidos's payout ratio 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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