Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Leidos (NYSE:LDOS)

Research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.11% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $204.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Leidos Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $155.50 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.73. Leidos has a 1 year low of $128.32 and a 1 year high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.63.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The aerospace company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 32.95% and a net margin of 8.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.050-12.450 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total value of $576,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,414,500.75. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth $28,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.