Short Interest in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Decreases By 8.0%

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a drop of 8.0% from the July 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 850,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Leidos by 122.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $158.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion, a PE ratio of 68.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos has a 12-month low of $89.22 and a 12-month high of $158.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.04.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Leidos will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.25.

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.