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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Thirteen firms give Leidos an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (7 buys, 5 holds, 1 strong buy) with a mean 12‑month price target of $208.27, and recent upgrades include Citi lifting its target to $232.
• Quarterly results and guidance: Leidos beat expectations with $2.76 EPS (vs. $2.57 est.) and $4.88B revenue (vs. $4.31B est.), and set FY2026 guidance of $12.05–$12.45 EPS despite revenue being down 3.6% year‑over‑year.
• Insider and ownership activity: An insider sold 3,000 shares at $192.21 (a 7.22% reduction in her stake), and roughly 76.1% of the company is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.2727.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LDOS shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $185.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total value of $576,630.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,414,500.75. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Leidos by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 40,407 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,290,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,090 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 65,609 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,838,000 after buying an additional 4,124 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 2,367.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 765 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $157.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50 day moving average is $170.23 and its 200 day moving average is $182.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Leidos has a 52-week low of $136.91 and a 52-week high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The aerospace company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 32.95%. Leidos's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.050-12.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 15.45%.

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.

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