Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Downgraded by TD Cowen to Hold

TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $165.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $200.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LDOS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.07.

Leidos Stock Down 1.1 %

LDOS stock opened at $145.75 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.75. Leidos has a twelve month low of $107.73 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Leidos will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 18.22%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 55.7% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $838,000 after buying an additional 2,054 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 7.3% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.8% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.