Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,100,852 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 882,294 shares.The stock last traded at $160.63 and had previously closed at $167.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LDOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.23.

Leidos Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.25.

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. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 156.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,184.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,213,000 after buying an additional 462,792 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 24,194.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,459,000 after acquiring an additional 375,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,942,000 after acquiring an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.