Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Lowered to "Buy" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, reflecting changing analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Several equity analysts have varied price targets for Leidos, with Stifel Nicolaus setting a target of $178.00 and Wells Fargo raising theirs to $200.00, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• Leidos reported earnings of $3.21 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 2.9% year-over-year revenue growth.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on LDOS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Baird R W cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.46.

Leidos Stock Up 0.7%

LDOS stock opened at $176.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $123.62 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $157.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.10. The stock has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.65.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 1st quarter worth about $267,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,841 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,418 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 263.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 9,938 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 437,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $63,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 2,940.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is 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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