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

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $191.25.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. Argus raised Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Leidos from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Leidos from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS stock opened at $126.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.32. Leidos has a 1-year low of $121.20 and a 1-year high of $205.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 8.15%.The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 15.75%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $197,001.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,686.75. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Leidos by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Leidos by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.