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

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 29th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the aerospace company on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th.

Leidos has raised its dividend by an average of 2.4% annually 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. 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 Up 1.0 %

NYSE:LDOS traded up $1.26 on Monday, hitting $131.62. 1,277,702 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 830,820. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.95. 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 has a 52 week low of $76.58 and a 52 week high of $132.34. The company has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.70.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its 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. Leidos had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Leidos will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.42.

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.