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

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.50 and last traded at $45.30, with a volume of 435059 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DRS. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Leonardo DRS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. BTIG Research set a $49.00 price target on shares of Leonardo DRS and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Leonardo DRS Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $736.72 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In related news, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 137,283 shares in the company, valued at $4,387,564.68. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Dippold sold 26,618 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $870,408.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,249,825.40. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,354 shares of company stock worth $3,019,773. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Leonardo DRS during the first quarter valued at $263,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 102,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,369,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter valued at about $888,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 7,625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

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.