Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Lowered to “Market Perform” Rating by William Blair

William Blair lowered shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

LDOS has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.76. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.22 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS 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, equities analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This 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 Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.