TD Cowen Downgrades Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) to Hold

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $165.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $200.00. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.06% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on LDOS. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.50.

Leidos Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $147.24 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $163.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos has a 52 week low of $107.73 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Analysts forecast that Leidos will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.