Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.23.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $147.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $136.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.27. 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 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 422.2% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Leidos by 143.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 156 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.