Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target Raised to $160.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $138.00 to $160.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Leidos from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $141.17.

Leidos Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $142.21 on Wednesday. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $76.58 and a fifty-two week high of $142.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a PE ratio of 61.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.73.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 25.66%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Leidos by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 31,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 10,858 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,756 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Leidos by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.