Analysts Set Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Target Price at $182.00

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $182.00.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 346,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,459,000 after buying an additional 80,642 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,191 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter worth $311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 0.6 %

Leidos stock opened at $144.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. Leidos has a one year low of $106.38 and a one year high of $202.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is an increase 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 currently 18.22%.

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.