Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target Raised to $230.00

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $183.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $182.97 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.19. Leidos has a one year low of $100.17 and a one year high of $188.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 9.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,231 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter valued at $305,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Leidos by 3.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 464,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $60,879,000 after acquiring an additional 16,446 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Leidos by 3.3% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter valued at $13,397,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.