Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 9.800-10.000 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 9.080. The company issued revenue guidance of $16.4 billion-$16.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $16.3 billion. Leidos also updated its FY24 guidance to $9.80-10.00 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Leidos from $169.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.92.

Leidos Trading Up 9.6 %

NYSE:LDOS traded up $16.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $186.00. 1,111,348 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 845,695. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos has a 12-month low of $90.53 and a 12-month high of $186.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.48 and its 200-day moving average is $149.88.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos will post 8.96 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.65%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

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