Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Has $2.47 Million Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial boosted its Leidos stake by 391.9% in the first quarter, ending with 15,902 shares valued at about $2.47 million.
• Leidos saw mixed analyst sentiment, with several firms cutting ratings or price targets; overall, the stock currently carries an average "Hold" rating and a consensus target price of $177.92.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share to be paid on June 30.

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 391.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,902 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 12,669 shares during the quarter. Leidos accounts for 1.4% of Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.'s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $990,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 33.3% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 16,475.4% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $646,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131,706 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 4.3% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 9,671 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 35.3% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,798 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $125.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Leidos from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.92.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total transaction of $197,001.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,686.75. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Leidos Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of LDOS opened at $100.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.77. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.53 and a 52-week high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 8.15%.The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.75%.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos' work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.

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