Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair cut Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.23.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,212,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,215,082. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $136.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.43. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 422.2% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 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.