Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $194.00 to $220.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

LDOS has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock opened at $182.97 on Wednesday. Leidos has a 1-year low of $100.17 and a 1-year high of $188.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.37.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,430,264 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,592,000 after acquiring an additional 188,458 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 782,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $114,102,000 after buying an additional 222,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,942,000 after buying an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.