Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 66,104 Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Leonardo DRS by 25.6% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 66,104 shares and valuing its holdings at approximately $10.65 million.
• Recent analyst reports have raised price targets for Leonardo DRS, with Goldman Sachs and Truist Financial setting targets at $49.00 and $51.00 respectively, highlighting a strong consensus on buying the stock.
• Leonardo DRS reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.23, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 10.1% increase in year-over-year revenue, reflecting positive financial performance.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) by 25.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,014 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 66,104 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Leonardo DRS worth $10,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,957,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $261,656,000 after buying an additional 22,990 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,505,000 after buying an additional 278,541 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,432,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,274,000 after buying an additional 166,936 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 0.8% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS during the first quarter valued at about $31,254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

Leonardo DRS Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ DRS traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.19. The stock had a trading volume of 938,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,942. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $44.61 and its 200-day moving average is $39.11. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.00 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.29, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The firm had revenue of $829.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $824.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue 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, analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

Insider Activity at Leonardo DRS

In related news, COO John Baylouny sold 11,375 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.17, for a total transaction of $468,308.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 125,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,183,632.36. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David W. Carey sold 6,438 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.94, for a total transaction of $295,761.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,139.08. This trade represents a 21.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,216 shares of company stock worth $945,342. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leonardo DRS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research note on Monday, August 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $33.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Leonardo DRS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

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.