AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Leonardo DRS by 30.9%, now owning 197,213 shares worth approximately $6.48 million.
• Leonardo DRS reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.22, with revenue of $829 million, a 10.1% increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Leonardo DRS, with Goldman Sachs issuing a buy rating and a price target of $49.00, while Truist Financial increased its target from $45.00 to $51.00.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,213 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,561 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Leonardo DRS worth $6,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Leonardo DRS by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,957,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $261,656,000 after purchasing an additional 22,990 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,848,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,298,000 after buying an additional 804,938 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,096,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,066,000 after buying an additional 8,516 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,254,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 116.3% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 799,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,292,000 after buying an additional 429,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

Leonardo DRS Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of DRS traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,368,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,562. The company has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 44.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a one year low of $26.75 and a one year high of $49.31. The company's fifty day moving average price is $43.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.32.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 11.02% and a net margin of 7.31%.The firm had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Leonardo DRS has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.060-1.110 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Leonardo DRS's payout ratio is 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Leonardo DRS in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Leonardo DRS from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $33.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Leonardo DRS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 19,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.65, for a total transaction of $806,344.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,834 shares in the company, valued at $2,450,436.10. The trade was a 24.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eric Salzman sold 4,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.17, for a total value of $181,271.51. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $486,629.40. This trade represents a 27.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,138 shares of company stock worth $1,455,924 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.