GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $147.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.73 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.