Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LDOS. Baird R W downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird cut Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.46.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $164.66 on Friday. Leidos has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock's 50 day moving average is $152.12 and its 200-day moving average is $144.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

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

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.

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