Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Up 5.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) shot up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $139.94 and last traded at $141.45. 268,721 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,058,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair cut shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Leidos Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.01. The stock has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Leidos by 510.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $144,011,000 after acquiring an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Leidos by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,942,000 after buying an additional 682,532 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after acquiring an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.