Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.87.

Leidos Stock Up 4.8 %

LDOS opened at $139.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.74. Leidos has a 12 month low of $123.22 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’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 directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.