Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Short Interest Update

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,860,000 shares, an increase of 73.9% from the February 13th total of 3,370,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $134.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.01. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

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.