Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Rating Lowered by William Blair

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by equities researchers at William Blair from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Finviz reports.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of LDOS opened at $130.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Leidos has a 12 month low of $122.76 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $144.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.76. The stock has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Equities analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $726,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,208 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,841 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSS LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 7,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is 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.