Empower Advisory Group LLC Makes New $244,000 Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LDOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos 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 directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $160.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.25. The stock has a market cap of $21.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.63 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

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.