Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Lowered to “Market Perform” at William Blair

William Blair cut shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LDOS. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.27.

Leidos Stock Down 2.6 %

Leidos stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.22 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $144.36 and its 200 day moving average is $156.84. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $144,011,000 after buying an additional 835,930 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Leidos by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $378,942,000 after buying an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Leidos by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.