Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target Raised to $166.00

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective hoisted by TD Cowen from $155.00 to $166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LDOS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $160.17.

Leidos Stock Up 0.4 %

Leidos stock opened at $145.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.67, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.62. Leidos has a 12 month low of $89.22 and a 12 month high of $155.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Leidos will post 8.87 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total transaction of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares in the company, valued at $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,191,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 9,164.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 578,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,623,000 after acquiring an additional 572,316 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 1,184.3% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,213,000 after acquiring an additional 462,792 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 138.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,840,000 after acquiring an additional 300,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 276.5% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 304,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,915,000 after acquiring an additional 223,613 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.