Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,801 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,801 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd 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 bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $155.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $107.73 and a one year high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.10.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its 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 return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.07.

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.