Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97, Briefing.com reports. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos updated its FY24 guidance to $9.80-10.00 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 9.800-10.000 EPS.

Leidos Trading Up 0.4 %

LDOS stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.55. The company had a trading volume of 317,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,226. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.19 and a 200 day moving average of $150.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a 52 week low of $94.57 and a 52 week high of $188.12.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s payout ratio is 47.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Leidos from $169.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $153,798.57. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,082,689.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell purchased 1,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,605.92. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% 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.