Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Leidos from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet upgraded Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.42.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $124.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 87.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a 52-week low of $76.58 and a 52-week high of $131.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $126.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in Leidos by 548.8% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 266 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently 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.