Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Reaches New 1-Year High at $151.38

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $151.38 and last traded at $151.33, with a volume of 409572 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $148.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.83.

Leidos Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.20, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.88.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total value of $131,836.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,651,929.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Leidos by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,780 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 6,858 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 30.5% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.8% during the second quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 3,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 68,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,926,000 after buying an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Leidos by 8.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.