Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Leidos Holdings, Inc. has received an average broker recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 16 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $185.21.
• The company reported $3.21 earnings per share in its most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.58, with a revenue of $4.25 billion.
• Leidos announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 0.9% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.2143.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LDOS shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on shares of Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $182.20 on Friday. Leidos has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.52.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.12%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $267,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Leidos by 263.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 9,938 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 2,940.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,679 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,704,000 after buying an additional 7,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at $994,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Leidos

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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