Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $142.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.05 and a 200 day moving average of $152.06. The company has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos has a 12 month low of $123.23 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.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos 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 sale, 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 position. 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 modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 414.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 30,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,977,000 after buying an additional 24,601 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Leidos by 8.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Leidos by 53.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $93,891,000 after acquiring an additional 199,686 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Leidos by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,912,000 after purchasing an additional 42,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Leidos by 0.8% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 69,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,357,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.