Leidos Holdings, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.38 (NYSE:LDOS)

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of 0.38 per share by the aerospace company on Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%.

Leidos has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Leidos has a dividend payout ratio of 17.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Leidos to earn $8.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.0%.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE LDOS traded up $0.48 on Friday, hitting $130.36. The company had a trading volume of 756,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,629. The company has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 91.47, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $127.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Leidos has a 12-month low of $76.58 and a 12-month high of $131.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Leidos will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. Barclays raised shares of Leidos from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.42.

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.