Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Hits New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $40.75 and last traded at $40.23, with a volume of 2063805 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.96.

The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The business had revenue of $799.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.72 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Leonardo DRS’s payout ratio is presently 45.57%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.33.

Insider Activity at Leonardo DRS

In related news, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $1,471,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 328,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,738,810.80. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.81, for a total value of $122,844.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 74,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,603,962.05. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,360 shares of company stock worth $3,262,887. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 80.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,514,000 after buying an additional 47,796 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 147.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,285 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Leonardo DRS by 92.3% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Leonardo DRS Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.42. The firm has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 53.16, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.