Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,089,543 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 81% from the previous session’s volume of 1,155,201 shares.The stock last traded at $142.00 and had previously closed at $134.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.07.

Leidos Trading Up 5.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos 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 sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Leidos by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.