Wall Street Zen Upgrades Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) to “Buy”

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on DRS. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price target on Leonardo DRS in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on shares of Leonardo DRS in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Leonardo DRS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leonardo DRS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Leonardo DRS Price Performance

NASDAQ DRS opened at $46.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.73. The company has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.95, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.43. Leonardo DRS has a 1-year low of $28.17 and a 1-year high of $49.31.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last issued its earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 7.62%. Equities analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Leonardo DRS news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 7,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.38, for a total transaction of $320,881.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 63,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,894,245.64. This represents a 9.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sally Wallace sold 28,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.35, for a total transaction of $1,342,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,704,661.55. The trade was a 33.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,361 shares of company stock worth $2,944,837. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 116.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,661,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,596 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Leonardo DRS in the 4th quarter valued at $37,481,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Leonardo DRS by 152.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,776,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,639,000 after buying an additional 1,071,708 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 528.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000,000 after buying an additional 1,070,870 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,768,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,144,000 after buying an additional 870,772 shares during the period. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS is a U.S.-based defense technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. The firm specializes in developing and integrating mission-critical systems for military and government customers, with a primary focus on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Its core offerings encompass advanced sensors, targeting systems, radars and electronic warfare solutions designed to enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness across land, sea and air domains.

The company’s portfolio includes naval combat management systems, unmanned vehicle sensors, power generation and distribution equipment, and training and simulation solutions.