Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors increased its Leidos stake by 30.5% in the first quarter, adding 132,683 shares to own 567,601 shares valued at approximately $88.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.12% of Leidos.
• Leidos exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.13 in EPS versus the $2.88 consensus and $4.40 billion in revenue, up 3.7% year over year. The company also authorized a buyback of up to 20 million shares and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $163.80 compared with the stock’s $115.67 opening price. Leidos shares have traded between $98.86 and $205.77 over the past year.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 30.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 567,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,683 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Leidos worth $88,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 517 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Leidos by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 23,513 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,242,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 381 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Leidos by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,855 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total transaction of $197,001.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,345,686.75. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $115.67 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.86 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The company has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.52.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 8.15%.The business had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Leidos's payout ratio is 15.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $193.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Leidos from $140.00 to $110.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Leidos from $215.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.80.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LDOS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.