Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has upgraded Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating, reflecting increasing confidence from analysts.
• Leidos reported earnings of $3.21 per share, surpassing expectations and indicating a 2.9% year-over-year revenue increase to $4.25 billion.
• The stock currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and has a target price of $183.31, with 76.12% of the stock owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.31.

Leidos Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded up $0.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.45. 134,340 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,306,792. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.30. Leidos has a 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 15.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This represents a 32.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at $267,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,841 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 263.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 437,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,026,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2,940.8% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.