Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Downgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LDOS. Bank of America boosted their target price on Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus upped their price objective on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Leidos from a c rating to a b rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $132.42.

Leidos Trading Up 0.3 %

LDOS stock opened at $130.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.78, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a twelve month low of $76.58 and a twelve month high of $131.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $127.59 and a 200-day moving average of $113.69.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 107.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 209.0% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.