Morgan Stanley Boosts Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Price Target to $44.00

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) had its price target upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $34.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.76% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Leonardo DRS Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DRS traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.00. 347,003 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 836,417. The firm has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. Leonardo DRS has a 12-month low of $21.42 and a 12-month high of $42.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $799.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.72 million. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leonardo DRS announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leonardo DRS

In related news, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $1,471,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 328,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,738,810.80. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.81, for a total value of $122,844.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 74,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,603,962.05. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,360 shares of company stock worth $3,262,887. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Leonardo DRS by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 92.3% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the fourth quarter worth approximately $116,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

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.