Brokerages Set Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target at $205.42

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $212.9091.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Leidos in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $218.00 price objective for the company.

Leidos Stock Up 1.7%

Leidos stock opened at $198.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $123.62 and a fifty-two week high of $205.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.54.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.04, for a total value of $543,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,526,738. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter valued at about $261,501,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $242,464,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Leidos by 64.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,529,261 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,256,000 after acquiring an additional 598,974 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 21.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,433,712 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $223,731,000 after acquiring an additional 250,555 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 1,427.1% in the third quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 259,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,054,000 after acquiring an additional 242,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Leidos

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research issued a string of small upward EPS revisions for FY2026/FY2027 and several quarterly estimates, signaling modest upside to earnings consensus (Zacks still carries a “Hold” rating). Zacks estimates update
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces highlighting Wall Street bulls’ interest in Leidos underscore investor appetite for its defense/IT exposure and may be supporting the rally. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Leidos (LDOS): Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the estimate tweaks, Zacks maintains a “Hold” — the changes are incremental rather than a major catalyst, so they provide limited directional impetus by themselves. Zacks consensus/hold commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel downgraded Leidos, which typically exerts downward pressure on the stock by reducing buy-side conviction and potentially prompting re-rating risk. Stifel downgrades Leidos Holdings (LDOS)
• Negative Sentiment: Market Talk flagged a slowing Veterans Affairs revenue stream as a potential headwind for Leidos’ government-business growth, a material operational risk for investors focused on near-term topline. Leidos to Face Headwind From Slowing Veterans-Affairs Revenue — Market Talk
• Negative Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance piece raises questions about routine insider stock credits and whether they mask a shift in Leidos’ defense IT positioning — governance/strategy concerns that can increase investor caution. Are Leidos Holdings’ (LDOS) Routine Insider Stock Credits Masking a Shift in Its Defense IT Positioning?

Leidos Company Profile

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.