Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $160.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Leidos traded as high as $144.17 and last traded at $143.79, with a volume of 87775 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $142.62.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised shares of Leidos from a "c" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.67.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,923,663 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $532,937,000 after acquiring an additional 39,174 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Leidos by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,660,386 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $429,501,000 after buying an additional 272,090 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Leidos by 5.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,044,206 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $280,554,000 after acquiring an additional 169,351 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $202,191,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Leidos by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,723 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $199,344,000 after purchasing an additional 45,079 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company's 50 day moving average price is $129.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.23.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is 65.52%.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.