Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 8,428 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 21.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,089 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 8,428 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $3,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 381 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Leidos by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Investment Management LP grew its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 2,240 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock opened at $141.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.86 and a 1 year high of $205.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.19.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS 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 net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.200-12.500 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Leidos declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Leidos from $152.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Leidos from $210.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $150.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 34,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

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.