Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Price Down 7.1% – Here’s Why

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)’s stock price traded down 7.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $139.85 and last traded at $138.23. 1,206,395 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 1,070,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.81.

Key Headlines Impacting Leidos

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Leidos reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $3.13 and revenue of $4.40B, both above consensus; operating cash flow and non‑GAAP metrics were solid, supporting near-term fundamentals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and contract momentum — Backlog rose to about $48.4B, driven by intelligence, energy infrastructure and air traffic control demand, highlighting durable government/infra revenue visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY2026 guidance — Leidos lifted its full‑year revenue and EPS outlook (EPS guide $12.10–$12.50; revenue $18.0–$18.4B), reflecting confidence in IT and intel services demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance context — The EPS range centers near Street estimates (consensus ~12.3); while raised, the range’s midpoint is close to expectations, which may temper upside surprise. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary — The Q1 earnings call transcript provides detail on contract timing, margin drivers and investment priorities; listen for contract phasing and margin cadence that will influence future quarters. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and technicals — Despite fundamental beats, shares are down amid high volume; price sits below the 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages, suggesting short‑term technical selling and profit‑taking. (Company filings and market data referenced above.)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Leidos from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $185.00 target price on Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.82.

Leidos Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.28.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 32.95% and a net margin of 8.43%.Leidos’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.45%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,855,799.28. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Leidos by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.