Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Short Interest Up 73.9% in February

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,860,000 shares, an increase of 73.9% from the February 13th total of 3,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,703 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Leidos by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in Leidos by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,395 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $1,979,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 100.1% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 803,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,407. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.02. 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 has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its 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 net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.32%.

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.