Leidos Holdings, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 (NYSE:LDOS)

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 7th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the aerospace company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%.

Leidos has raised its dividend by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years. Leidos has a dividend payout ratio of 13.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Leidos to earn $10.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.5%.

Leidos Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $142.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.71. Leidos has a twelve month low of $112.53 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Leidos in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Leidos in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have 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 price target of $179.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.