Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The aerospace company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.22, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 33.02%.

Leidos Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE LDOS opened at $175.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.66. Leidos has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The company has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.59.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total transaction of $576,630.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,414,500.75. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 125.0% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 720 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its holdings in Leidos by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in Leidos by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 348 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LDOS. Citigroup lifted their price target on Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.09.

About Leidos

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.