Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.40 Per Share

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 25th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the aerospace company on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Leidos has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.4% per year over the last three years. Leidos has a dividend payout ratio of 15.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Leidos to earn $10.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.8%.

Leidos Stock Up 0.1 %

LDOS stock opened at $153.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.64. Leidos has a 52-week low of $105.52 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.56.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

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.