Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.82 and last traded at $40.45, with a volume of 5388 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on DRS shares. Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Leonardo DRS and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two research 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, Leonardo DRS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Leonardo DRS Stock Down 2.6%

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The firm had revenue of $799.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Leonardo DRS's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 26,618 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 68,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,249,825.40. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $1,471,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 328,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,738,810.80. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,831 shares of company stock worth $3,140,043 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,060 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

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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