Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Short Interest Update

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the April 30th total of 3,610,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Leidos Stock Up 0.6%

LDOS stock traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $145.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 988,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,368. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos has a 12 month low of $123.62 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LDOS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,137.25. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 3,450.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 704,106 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $95,012,000 after purchasing an additional 684,272 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Leidos by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,336,222 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $315,250,000 after purchasing an additional 536,452 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.