Leidos Holdings, Inc. to Post FY2024 Earnings of $8.69 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts (NYSE:LDOS)

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Leidos in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 30th. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now expects that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $8.69 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $7.84. The consensus estimate for Leidos' current full-year earnings is $8.60 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Leidos' FY2025 earnings at $9.56 EPS.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.17.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $142.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,720,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,028. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.51, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $128.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.92. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $76.58 and a fifty-two week high of $143.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 22,225 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,108 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter worth $265,000. Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in Leidos by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 19,723 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,586,000 after buying an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the first quarter valued at about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is 65.52%.

About Leidos

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.