Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Short Interest Down 8.0% in August

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) saw a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a drop of 8.0% from the July 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 850,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LDOS. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.25.

Leidos Stock Down 1.7 %

LDOS stock opened at $155.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.52. Leidos has a 1-year low of $89.22 and a 1-year high of $159.10.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Leidos will post 8.95 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 65.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell purchased 1,712 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,605.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 7,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,605.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in Leidos by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 2.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,346 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Leidos by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.