Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $179.07.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Leidos in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was 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 represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 97,921 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,106,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Down 7.6 %

LDOS opened at $148.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos has a one year low of $108.95 and a one year high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $154.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.29.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.