Leidos (LDOS) Competitors

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) and Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) are both large-cap it consulting & other services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, media sentiment and profitability.

Is BAH or LDOS a better dividend stock?

Booz Allen Hamilton pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Leidos pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booz Allen Hamilton pays out 30.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Leidos pays out 16.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Booz Allen Hamilton has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Leidos has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Booz Allen Hamilton is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer BAH or LDOS?

In the previous week, Leidos had 6 more articles in the media than Booz Allen Hamilton. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Leidos and 18 mentions for Booz Allen Hamilton. Leidos' average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat Booz Allen Hamilton's score of 1.09 indicating that Leidos is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Booz Allen Hamilton	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Leidos	17 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, BAH or LDOS?

Leidos has higher revenue and earnings than Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen Hamilton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Leidos, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Booz Allen Hamilton	$11.98B	1.11	$935M	$7.25	14.71
Leidos	$16.66B	1.25	$1.25B	$9.94	16.22

Do analysts prefer BAH or LDOS?

Booz Allen Hamilton currently has a consensus target price of $134.64, suggesting a potential upside of 26.26%. Leidos has a consensus target price of $177.46, suggesting a potential upside of 10.05%. Given Booz Allen Hamilton's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Booz Allen Hamilton is more favorable than Leidos.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Booz Allen Hamilton	2 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.17
Leidos	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BAH or LDOS?

91.8% of Booz Allen Hamilton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of Leidos shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Booz Allen Hamilton shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Leidos shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is BAH or LDOS more profitable?

Leidos has a net margin of 7.87% compared to Booz Allen Hamilton's net margin of 7.81%. Booz Allen Hamilton's return on equity of 72.35% beat Leidos' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Booz Allen Hamilton	7.81%	72.35%	11.77%
Leidos	7.87%	32.62%	11.14%

Which has more volatility and risk, BAH or LDOS?

Booz Allen Hamilton has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Leidos has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Leidos beats Booz Allen Hamilton on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.