Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Stock

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $200.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 20.10% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LDOS. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.23.

Leidos Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 101,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,269. Leidos has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.89. The company has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.69.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.02% and a net margin of 8.11%. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,804,892.85. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,449 shares of company stock worth $2,751,229 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the first quarter worth about $27,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 471.4% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

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.