Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $126.82, but opened at $131.26. Leidos shares last traded at $128.19, with a volume of 294,577 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.27.

Leidos Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $144.36 and its 200-day moving average is $156.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 1,460.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.