Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,100,852 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 882,294 shares.The stock last traded at $160.63 and had previously closed at $167.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LDOS. Citigroup lifted their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.23.

Leidos Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.22%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the third quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Leidos during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 251.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.