Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 16th

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 25th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the aerospace company on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Leidos has raised its dividend by an average of 2.4% per year over the last three years. Leidos has a payout ratio of 15.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Leidos to earn $10.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.8%.

Leidos Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $153.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.56. Leidos has a one year low of $105.52 and a one year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Leidos in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% 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.