Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Rating Lowered to “Market Perform” at William Blair

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) was downgraded by analysts at William Blair from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Friday,Finviz reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $130.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos has a 1 year low of $122.76 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $144.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.76.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,225,784,000 after acquiring an additional 84,003 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $945,458,000 after buying an additional 56,066 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,393,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $487,649,000 after buying an additional 27,410 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.