Leidos Holdings, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.38 (NYSE:LDOS)

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of 0.38 per share by the aerospace company on Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th.

Leidos has raised its dividend by an average of 2.4% per year over the last three years. Leidos has a payout ratio of 15.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Leidos to earn $9.36 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.2%.

Leidos Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $152.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.21. Leidos has a one year low of $89.22 and a one year high of $159.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.65. The stock has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.69.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.