Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) CFO Michael Dippold Sells 14,317 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• CFO Michael Dippold sold 14,317 shares at an average $37.91, totaling about $542,757. The sale was made under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his direct holdings by 40.74% to 20,826 shares.
• Leonardo DRS beat quarterly expectations: EPS was $0.46 versus analysts’ $0.35 estimate, while revenue reached $1.07 billion and rose 11% year over year.
• AeroVironment selected Leonardo DRS as a subcontractor for the U.S. Army’s high-energy laser production program, providing vehicle integration and power and thermal management expertise; the contract value was not disclosed.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) CFO Michael Dippold sold 14,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.91, for a total transaction of $542,757.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $789,513.66. This represents a 40.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Michael Dippold also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Michael Dippold sold 20,317 shares of Leonardo DRS stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.18, for a total transaction of $755,386.06.

Leonardo DRS Stock Up 5.3%

DRS traded up $1.94 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.86. 2,881,491 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,103,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.16. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.43 and a twelve month high of $50.59. The stock has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.36.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.11. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 12.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.47%.

Key Headlines Impacting Leonardo DRS

Here are the key news stories impacting Leonardo DRS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment selected Leonardo DRS as a subcontractor for the U.S. Army’s Enduring-High Energy Laser production program. DRS will provide rugged vehicle integration and power and thermal management expertise. The award strengthens its position in a developing defense program, although the announcement did not disclose the contract’s value. Article: Leonardo DRS Selected by AV for U.S. Army’s Enduring-High Energy Laser Production Program
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed its “buy” rating and $50 price target. A separate report put the consensus target at $51.50, both above the $38.86 price cited in the coverage. Article: Leonardo DRS Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $51.50
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its target from $44 to $45 but retained an “equal weight” rating, indicating a modestly higher valuation view without a more bullish recommendation. Article: Morgan Stanley stock recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: DRS is set to demonstrate thermal-camera cores for the Army’s DUTCH initiative. The demonstration could showcase its sensor technology, but the report does not describe a contract award. Article: Leonardo DRS to demonstrate thermal camera cores

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DRS shares. Zacks Research upgraded Leonardo DRS from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Leonardo DRS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Leonardo DRS in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $51.50.

Institutional Trading of Leonardo DRS

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,883,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,705,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS in the 2nd quarter valued at $24,857,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth $3,153,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth $2,687,000. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies advanced products and systems for the U.S. military and government customers, as well as allied nations. The company operates as a subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. and focuses on technologies used in land, sea, air and space-related defense applications.

Its offerings include sensing and surveillance systems, electro-optical and infrared technologies, radar and electronic warfare products, network computing and communications systems, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, force protection equipment, and naval power and propulsion systems.

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