Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.20, but opened at $38.95. Leonardo DRS shares last traded at $39.8620, with a volume of 262,299 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DRS shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Leonardo DRS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Leonardo DRS in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Leonardo DRS Stock Up 8.2%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.50 and a 200 day moving average of $40.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $960.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.79 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 7.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Leonardo DRS has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.070-1.120 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.73%.

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In other Leonardo DRS news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 10,588 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $391,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,589,224. The trade was a 19.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sally Wallace sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $45,721.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,275.01. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 20,369 shares of company stock valued at $808,012 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leonardo DRS

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRS. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 116.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,661,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,219,000 after buying an additional 1,972,596 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Leonardo DRS by 152.1% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,776,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071,708 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 528.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,336,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Leonardo DRS by 30.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,768,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,144,000 after purchasing an additional 870,772 shares in the last quarter. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS is a U.S.-based defense technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. The firm specializes in developing and integrating mission-critical systems for military and government customers, with a primary focus on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Its core offerings encompass advanced sensors, targeting systems, radars and electronic warfare solutions designed to enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness across land, sea and air domains.

The company’s portfolio includes naval combat management systems, unmanned vehicle sensors, power generation and distribution equipment, and training and simulation solutions.