Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 89,746 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $14,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the second quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 471.4% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. increased its stake in Leidos by 66.2% during the second quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 216 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS opened at $190.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.46 and its 200-day moving average is $173.28. The stock has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.69. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.02% and a net margin of 8.11%. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.23.

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.