Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $40.75 and last traded at $40.23, with a volume of 2063805 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.96.

The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $799.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Leonardo DRS's payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Leonardo DRS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.81, for a total value of $122,844.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 74,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,603,962.05. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Salzman sold 3,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total value of $120,269.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,262 shares in the company, valued at $458,732.58. This represents a 20.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,262,887 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,934,919 shares of the company's stock worth $256,377,000 after purchasing an additional 263,002 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 183.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,457,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,715,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236,661 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,505,000 after acquiring an additional 278,541 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,432,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,274,000 after acquiring an additional 166,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,301,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,066,000 after acquiring an additional 62,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

Leonardo DRS Trading Up 8.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 50.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.32.

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.

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