Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $723,000 in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $259,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 6.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 32,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Leidos by 113.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,564 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the second quarter valued at approximately $839,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $173.81 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.32 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The stock has a market cap of $21.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.15 and its 200-day moving average is $186.34.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The aerospace company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 32.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.050-12.450 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Leidos from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.18.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total transaction of $576,630.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,414,500.75. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.