Lipe & Dalton Acquires New Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Lipe & Dalton acquired a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,713 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,254,000. Leidos comprises approximately 1.5% of Lipe & Dalton’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Leidos by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,154 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 7.8% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 10.2% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.0% in the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 5,304 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $120.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.95 and its 200-day moving average is $128.36. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $98.86 and a one year high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Leidos announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to buy back 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LDOS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $152.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on Leidos in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Leidos from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,437,233.40. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,820,980.84. The trade was a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology, engineering and services company that provides solutions to government and commercial customers. The company operates primarily in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets, supporting customers with mission-critical systems, digital modernization, cybersecurity, data analytics and technical services.

Its offerings include defense and intelligence technologies, command-and-control systems, transportation and infrastructure solutions, health information technology, aviation and security services, and scientific and engineering support.