Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at TD Cowen

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was upgraded by equities researchers at TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LDOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Leidos Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of LDOS opened at $143.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.60. Leidos has a 52-week low of $105.52 and a 52-week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 36.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 6,395 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,421 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 51.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 21.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 9,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter worth $4,622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.