Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for Leonardo DRS from $44.00 to $47.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.20% from the stock's previous close.
• The stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with an average target price of $46.29, following varying ratings from different research firms.
• During recent trading, Leonardo DRS shares decreased by 3.1%, bringing the stock price down to $41.89, while the market capitalization stands at $11.15 billion.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $44.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $33.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BTIG Research set a $49.00 price objective on Leonardo DRS and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Leonardo DRS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Leonardo DRS in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leonardo DRS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.29.

Leonardo DRS Trading Up 0.9%

DRS traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.05. 139,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,045,821. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.65. Leonardo DRS has a 1-year low of $22.73 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $45.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 11.02% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio is 38.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David W. Carey sold 6,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.94, for a total transaction of $295,761.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,097,139.08. This represents a 21.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Leonardo DRS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,957,909 shares of the company's stock worth $261,656,000 after purchasing an additional 22,990 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 16.0% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,848,473 shares of the company's stock worth $192,298,000 after purchasing an additional 804,938 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 183.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,457,612 shares of the company's stock worth $111,715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236,661 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,092 shares of the company's stock worth $51,505,000 after purchasing an additional 278,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,432,110 shares of the company's stock worth $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 166,936 shares during the last quarter. 18.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.