Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Leidos FY2024 Earnings

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) – Equities research analysts at William Blair increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Leidos in a research note issued on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $9.98 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.84. The consensus estimate for Leidos’ current full-year earnings is $9.90 per share.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $183.16 on Friday. Leidos has a 52 week low of $94.57 and a 52 week high of $188.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $162.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.78.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 6.5% in the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.2% in the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Leidos by 2.9% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in Leidos by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.