Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) hit a new 52-week low after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from buy to hold. Shares fell as low as $106.08 and were last trading around $104.74.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts remain mixed: some recently issued buy or outperform calls, while the overall consensus still stands at Hold with a price target of $177.92.
• Leidos recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share payable on June 30.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $106.08 and last traded at $104.7390, with a volume of 6853782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.12.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LDOS. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Leidos from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,855,799.28. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total transaction of $197,001.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,345,686.75. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,171 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Leidos by 1.0% during the third quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 492 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Leidos by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 517 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $133.08 and a 200-day moving average of $163.35.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is 15.75%.

About Leidos

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.