Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.97 EPS

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97, Briefing.com reports. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos updated its FY24 guidance to $9.80-10.00 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 9.800-10.000 EPS.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $186.55. 317,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 848,226. The stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.19 and a 200-day moving average of $150.31. 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 52 week low of $94.57 and a 52 week high of $188.12.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 47.65%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $145.04 per share, with a total value of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,605.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell acquired 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,248,605.92. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Leidos from $169.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.85.

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.