Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Moved Down to “Neutral” by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $142.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 24.95% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $150.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.14.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LDOS

Leidos Trading Down 2.6%

LDOS opened at $113.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Leidos has a 52 week low of $98.86 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.00 and a 200-day moving average of $129.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Leidos will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 12,077.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 95,712 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,661,000 after purchasing an additional 94,926 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,430,000 after buying an additional 161,407 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 30.6% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 21,836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 23,332 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology, engineering and services company that provides solutions to government and commercial customers. The company operates primarily in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets, supporting customers with mission-critical systems, digital modernization, cybersecurity, data analytics and technical services.

Its offerings include defense and intelligence technologies, command-and-control systems, transportation and infrastructure solutions, health information technology, aviation and security services, and scientific and engineering support.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS)

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