Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $173.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 28.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.69.

Leidos Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $155.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.16 and its 200 day moving average is $149.45.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Leidos’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,889 shares of company stock worth $675,786. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Leidos by 422.2% during 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 period. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.