Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Price

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $218.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Leidos from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $182.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.05 and its 200-day moving average is $151.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos has a 52 week low of $100.17 and a 52 week high of $188.36.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 156.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 462,792 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 24,194.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,459,000 after purchasing an additional 375,495 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 76.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,942,000 after purchasing an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 300,486 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.