Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LDOS. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

Leidos Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $142.05 on Monday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $135.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.06. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.