Leonardo DRS’s (DRS) Buy Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 target price on the stock.

DRS has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Leonardo DRS in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Leonardo DRS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Leonardo DRS in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leonardo DRS currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Leonardo DRS Stock Down 8.6%

Shares of Leonardo DRS stock opened at $35.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.57 and a 200 day moving average of $42.11. The firm has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.37. Leonardo DRS has a 1 year low of $32.43 and a 1 year high of $50.59.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 14.33%. Leonardo DRS’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leonardo DRS will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. Leonardo DRS’s payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Insider Activity at Leonardo DRS

In related news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 20,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.18, for a total value of $755,386.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,616.74. This trade represents a 36.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,883,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,941,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the 2nd quarter worth $24,857,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the second quarter worth $21,437,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,705,000. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Leonardo DRS News

Here are the key news stories impacting Leonardo DRS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment selected Leonardo DRS to support production of the U.S. Army’s LOCUST X3/enduring high-energy laser system, including vehicle integration, power and cooling. The Army’s broader production push is valued at $464.8 million, but DRS’s portion was not specified. U.S. Army LOCUST X3 laser production
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating on DRS, providing continued analyst support. BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Michael Dippold sold 14,317 shares for about $543,000, reducing his holdings by roughly 41%. The sale was made under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which lessens the significance of its timing. CFO share sale
• Neutral Sentiment: DRS appointed Shaveta J. Kapoor as chief human resources officer to lead workforce and leadership initiatives supporting the company’s growth. The announcement did not disclose financial terms or an immediate earnings impact. Appointment of chief human resources officer

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies advanced products and systems for the U.S. military and government customers, as well as allied nations. The company operates as a subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. and focuses on technologies used in land, sea, air and space-related defense applications.

Its offerings include sensing and surveillance systems, electro-optical and infrared technologies, radar and electronic warfare products, network computing and communications systems, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, force protection equipment, and naval power and propulsion systems.