Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Price Down 6.8% – Should You Sell?

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)’s share price dropped 6.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $180.37 and last traded at $181.23. Approximately 816,881 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 864,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.23.

Leidos Stock Down 4.4 %

The company has a market cap of $21.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.45.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.2% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co lifted its stake in Leidos by 3.5% in the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 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.