Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.31.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS opened at $189.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Leidos has a 52-week low of $123.62 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.44. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,095.24. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Kendall Capital Management lifted its stake in Leidos by 93.7% in the second quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 4,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 145.6% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 7,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after buying an additional 4,742 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter valued at $286,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Leidos by 19.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 88,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after buying an additional 14,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 26.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.