Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 6,600 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 77.0%, purchasing an additional 6,600 shares, raising their total to 15,172 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million.
• Leidos has received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $185.21, but recently faced a downgrade from "strong-buy" to "buy" from Wall Street Zen.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, reflecting a modest annual yield of 0.9%, and plans to pay this dividend on September 30th to shareholders of record on September 15th.

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,172 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 6,600 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Leidos were worth $2,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Leidos by 260.0% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Leidos during the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price target on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Argus lifted their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.21.

Leidos Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:LDOS opened at $187.37 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $175.83 and its 200-day moving average is $157.21. The firm has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Leidos's payout ratio is 15.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,738,095.24. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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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