William Blair Issues Optimistic Estimate for Leidos Earnings

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) – William Blair raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Leidos in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $9.98 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.84. The consensus estimate for Leidos’ current full-year earnings is $9.90 per share.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on LDOS. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

Leidos Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $183.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos has a 12-month low of $94.57 and a 12-month high of $188.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.78.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Leidos by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 3.5% in the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 17.31%.

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.