Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LDOS. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Leidos in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $132.22 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.55 and its 200 day moving average is $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos has a 1 year low of $120.98 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Leidos

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.