Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Argus lifted their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.31.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $189.80 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.44. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71. Leidos has a 52-week low of $123.62 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.Leidos’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,804,892.85. This represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Leidos in the second quarter valued at about $261,501,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3,450.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 704,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,012,000 after acquiring an additional 684,272 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 64.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,529,261 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,256,000 after buying an additional 598,974 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 29.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,336,222 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $315,250,000 after buying an additional 536,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 130.3% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 711,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,001,000 after buying an additional 402,454 shares in the last quarter. 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.