Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $40.75 and last traded at $40.23, with a volume of 2063805 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.96.

The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $799.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.72 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.57%.

Leonardo DRS announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.33.

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In related news, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.81, for a total transaction of $122,844.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 74,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,603,962.05. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Pamela Morrow sold 8,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $290,765.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,335 shares in the company, valued at $569,281.40. This trade represents a 33.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,262,887 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 148.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,032,000 after acquiring an additional 106,565 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Leonardo DRS by 16.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,239,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,326 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 133.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,850,000 after purchasing an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 89,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 4,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,000. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leonardo DRS Stock Up 4.4 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 53.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.