Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.42.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $124.92 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $126.78 and its 200 day moving average is $112.41. Leidos has a one year low of $76.58 and a one year high of $131.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.70.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Leidos by 1.6% in the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,651 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Leidos by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,172,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 13,762 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Leidos by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 10,858 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.