Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Leidos shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday, trading as low as $121.20 before last changing hands around $123.95. The move comes amid a broader slide in the stock, which is well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts have turned more cautious, with multiple firms cutting price targets and two recent downgrades from buy to hold/neutral. Even so, the stock still carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.64.
• Leidos reported solid quarterly results and continues paying a dividend, posting $3.13 EPS and $4.40 billion in revenue, both above expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding about 1.4% annually.

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $121.20 and last traded at $123.9450, with a volume of 65538 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $124.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Leidos from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Leidos from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.64.

Leidos Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $151.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.15.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 15.75%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $197,001.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,345,686.75. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total transaction of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,073 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 14,250 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,248,000 after buying an additional 6,600 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,405 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,532,000 after buying an additional 6,962 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 222.3% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis now owns 8,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 5,625 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

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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