Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $121.20 and last traded at $123.9450, with a volume of 65538 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $124.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $185.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.64.

Leidos Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.09 and its 200-day moving average is $173.34. The company has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 15.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total transaction of $197,001.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,686.75. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Longview Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos in the first quarter worth $26,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.