Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Short Interest Up 25.3% in March

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,764,705 shares, a growth of 25.3% from the February 26th total of 3,004,079 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,182,402 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Leidos Stock Up 0.8%

LDOS stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $155.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 997,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,011. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.73. Leidos has a 12 month low of $128.32 and a 12 month high of $205.77. The company has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The aerospace company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 32.95%. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.050-12.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $204.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Leidos from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total value of $576,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,414,500.75. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Leidos by 46.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Leidos by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,706 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,829,000 after buying an additional 36,232 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth $395,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.