Barclays Boosts Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target to $165.00

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target upped by Barclays from $160.00 to $165.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LDOS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $160.58.

Leidos Stock Up 0.4 %

LDOS traded up $0.63 on Monday, hitting $143.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,058,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,876. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Leidos has a 52-week low of $89.22 and a 52-week high of $155.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total transaction of $131,836.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,651,929.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,923,663 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $532,937,000 after buying an additional 39,174 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Leidos by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,430,264 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,592,000 after purchasing an additional 188,458 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $202,191,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Leidos by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $199,344,000 after purchasing an additional 45,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $128,340,000 after purchasing an additional 24,041 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.