Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Argus

Key Points

• Equities researcher Argus upgraded Leidos to a "Strong-Buy" rating in its latest research note, joining a mix of recent analyst actions on the stock.
• Leidos beat quarterly expectations on Feb. 17 with $2.76 EPS (vs. $2.57 est.) and $4.88B revenue (vs. $4.31B est.), and set FY 2026 guidance of EPS 12.050–12.450.
• The analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $211, based on one Strong Buy, seven Buy and five Hold ratings.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Leidos from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Leidos Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $155.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Leidos has a twelve month low of $128.32 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.53.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,414,500.75. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Leidos by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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