Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.38

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the aerospace company on Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%.

Leidos has raised its dividend by an average of 2.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Leidos has a payout ratio of 17.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Leidos to earn $8.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.0%.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $130.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.83. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $76.58 and a fifty-two week high of $131.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Leidos will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Leidos from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Leidos from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.42.

Insider Activity

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

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.