Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LDOS. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Leidos in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $218.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.42.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS opened at $185.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.45. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 33.02%. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Leidos by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 18,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 1.9% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 39,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,298,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 10.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,020 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $253,262,000 after purchasing an additional 170,263 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Leidos by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 125,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,957,000 after purchasing an additional 66,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 60.6% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 131,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,772,000 after buying an additional 49,686 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Leidos

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.