Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target Raised to $205.00

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target hoisted by Truist Financial from $175.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LDOS. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $169.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $182.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,053,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.19. Leidos has a one year low of $100.17 and a one year high of $188.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Leidos by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in Leidos by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Leidos by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Somerset Trust Co increased its stake in Leidos by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 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.