Analysts Set Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target at $163.08

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.08.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $153.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a PE ratio of 66.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $89.22 and a fifty-two week high of $159.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.62.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.13 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Leidos will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 65.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,082,689.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $202,191,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Leidos by 9,164.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 578,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,623,000 after purchasing an additional 572,316 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Leidos by 1,184.3% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,213,000 after purchasing an additional 462,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 76.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,942,000 after purchasing an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.