Pzena Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 247,849 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,521,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 381 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Leidos by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Leidos by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Investment Management LP raised its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 2,240 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $138.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $210.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.93.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total value of $1,406,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $142.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.11. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.86 and a 12-month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.35. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%.The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.200-12.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

Leidos announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Leidos Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.