Key Points
- Insider sale: Director Elizabeth Porter sold 3,000 shares on December 19 at an average price of $181.04 for $543,120, reducing her stake by 6.73% to 41,575 shares valued at about $7.53 million.
- Earnings beat and guidance: Leidos reported $3.05 EPS vs. $2.61 expected and $4.47B revenue for the quarter, and set FY2025 guidance of $11.45–$11.75 EPS (analysts expect ~10.62 EPS).
- Dividend raised: The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.43 (from $0.40), annualized $1.72 with a 0.9% yield and a payout ratio of ~16%, payable December 31 (ex-dividend December 15).
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) insider Elizabeth Porter sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.04, for a total transaction of $543,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,526,738. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
Leidos Stock Up 0.7%
Leidos stock opened at $186.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.35 and a 200-day moving average of $177.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.58.
Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 33.02%. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Leidos Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Leidos's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $448,000. AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at $345,000. Keel Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter worth $1,621,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Leidos by 34.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,097 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $218.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.42.
Get Our Latest Research Report on LDOS
Leidos Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos' work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.
Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.
Further Reading
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