Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at TD Cowen

TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $165.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $200.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.07.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $149.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos has a 1-year low of $107.73 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.84 and a 200-day moving average of $157.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during 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%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its stake in Leidos by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after buying an additional 6,395 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 100.1% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 51.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 21.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 9,710 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,622,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Company Profile

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.