Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Rating Lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $142.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.95% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.14.

Leidos Stock Down 2.6%

LDOS opened at $113.65 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.77. Leidos has a 52 week low of $98.86 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.58.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%.The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total value of $1,406,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter worth $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Leidos by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $646,430,000 after purchasing an additional 161,407 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Leidos by 16,475.4% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $646,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131,706 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,193,000 after purchasing an additional 47,542 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 998.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,097,724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $170,718,000 after purchasing an additional 997,807 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology, engineering and services company that provides solutions to government and commercial customers. The company operates primarily in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets, supporting customers with mission-critical systems, digital modernization, cybersecurity, data analytics and technical services.

Its offerings include defense and intelligence technologies, command-and-control systems, transportation and infrastructure solutions, health information technology, aviation and security services, and scientific and engineering support.