Argus Upgrades Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) to “Strong-Buy”

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS opened at $155.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos has a 1 year low of $128.32 and a 1 year high of $205.77.

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

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total transaction of $576,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,414,500.75. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Leidos by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

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.