Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $43.80 and last traded at $43.45, with a volume of 363033 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BTIG Research set a $49.00 price objective on Leonardo DRS and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leonardo DRS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.

Leonardo DRS Trading Up 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $799.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.72 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

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

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In related news, EVP Sally Wallace sold 8,353 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $274,312.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,454.40. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total value of $112,786.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 137,283 shares in the company, valued at $4,387,564.68. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,354 shares of company stock worth $3,019,773 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Leonardo DRS by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Leonardo DRS by 92.3% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the first quarter worth $46,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the first quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the first quarter worth $58,000. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.