Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Increases Dividend to $0.40 Per Share

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the aerospace company on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Leidos has raised its dividend by an average of 2.4% annually over the last three years. Leidos has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Leidos to earn $9.42 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 16.1%.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $168.71. 580,702 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 844,675. Leidos has a fifty-two week low of $90.30 and a fifty-two week high of $171.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $22.73 billion, a PE ratio of 52.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.85.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Leidos will post 8.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LDOS. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Leidos from $169.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Leidos from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $145.04 per share, with a total value of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,605.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $153,798.57. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,082,689.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,248,605.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Company Profile

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.