On September 13, 2023, it was reported that Chelsea Counsel Co. has reduced its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. The aerospace company saw a decrease of 14.5% in ownership by Chelsea Counsel Co. during the first quarter. The firm now owns 11,352 shares of the stock, having sold 1,920 shares within the specified period. The value of Chelsea Counsel Co.’s holdings in Leidos was estimated to be worth $1,045,000 as per their most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Leidos recently released its earnings results for the second quarter of the fiscal year on August 1st. For this period, the company reported an EPS (earnings per share) of $1.80 compared to a consensus estimate of $1.57 EPS – a notable beat by $0.23. Additionally, Leidos had a return on equity of approximately 20.97% and a net margin of about 4.77%. The aerospace company generated revenue amounting to $3.80 billion during this quarter, surpassing analyst estimates which projected revenue at $3.72 billion for the same period last year. Furthermore, in comparison to the previous year’s second-quarter results, Leidos registered a positive increase of 5.6% in revenue growth. Based on current projections made by equities analysts, it is anticipated that Leidos Holdings, Inc will post earnings per share (EPS) amounting to 6.64 for the full fiscal year.
Several research firms have also provided their analysis on Leidos Holdings recently. Notably, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target from $114.00 to $127.00 and reiterated their “buy” rating for the stock on August 3rd as part of their research note report . In addition to this, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Leidos on August 17th and assigned a “buy” rating. Another firm, Stifel Nicolaus, raised their price target from $116.00 to $119.00 and also maintained their “buy” rating on August 18th for the company’s stock. Meanwhile, TheStreet upgraded Leidos from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating on August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company revised their price objective on Leidos from $102.00 to $129.00 and offered an “overweight” rating on the stock on August 2nd. Overall, out of the ten research analysts who have provided evaluations, four have rated the stock as a hold while six have given it a buy rating.
As of September 13, 2023, Bloomberg.com reports that Leidos Holdings, Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from these analysts with an average price target set at $113.50.
This article highlights Chelsea Counsel Co.’s reduced stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc., as well as providing information regarding Leidos’ recent earnings results and analyst recommendations for the stock.
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Ownership Changes and Analyst Reviews Impact Leidos Holdings, Inc. Stock Performance
Leidos Holdings, Inc. has recently seen some changes in its ownership as various institutional investors have made alterations to their positions in the company. Noteworthy among these investors is KB Financial Partners LLC, which acquired a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter of this year, amounting to approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC also joined the group by purchasing a new stake valued at around $27,000 during the same quarter. Furthermore, Money Concepts Capital Corp greatly increased its stake in Leidos by an impressive 548.8% in the fourth quarter of last year and now owns 266 shares worth $28,000. Quarry LP followed suit and boosted its holdings by a staggering 1,340.7% during the first quarter, owning 389 shares valued at $36,000 as a result. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd entered the scene by buying a new position worth approximately $41,000 during the first quarter. All combined, hedge funds and other institutional investors currently hold about 74.71% of Leidos’ stock.
On Wednesday morning, LDOS stock opened at $95.81 with a market capitalization of $13.16 billion. The company’s price-to-earnings ratio stands at 18.71 while its beta value rests at 0.77—a factor that indicates lower volatility compared to the overall market average—and it has exhibited fluctuations between a low of $76.58 and a high of $110.91 over the past fifty-two weeks. Currently, Leidos Holdings maintains a simple moving average of $94.65 for fifty days and $90.02 for two hundred days respectively.
Various research firms have recently shared their perspective on LDOS stock as well.One such firm is The Goldman Sachs Group which raised its price target on shares from prior estimates ($114) to an updated price target of $127 whilst rating it as “buy” in an August 3rd research note. Additionally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Leidos and also provided a “buy” recommendation on the stock in a research note published on August 17th. Stifel Nicolaus chimed in by increasing their price target from $116 to $119 and giving the stock a “buy” rating on August 18th, while TheStreet upgraded Leidos from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating on August 9th. Lastly, Wells Fargo & Company raised its price objective from $102 to $129 and awarded the company with an “overweight” rating in their research report dated August 2nd. On average, analysts have given it a rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $113.50 according to data from Bloomberg.com.
Leidos recently announced that it will be paying out a quarterly dividend which is set to be distributed on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record as of Friday, September 15th will qualify for this dividend payment of $0.36 per share. It is noteworthy that this payment comes after the ex-dividend date of Thursday, September 14th.
In other news related to the firm, Director Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., recently sold off 3,098 shares of Leidos’ stock in an individual transaction dated Friday, August 4th. These shares were sold at an average price of $96.95 each and amounted to a total value of approximately $300,351.10. Following this transaction, Jansen Kraemer now directly holds about 84,277 shares valued at around $8,170,655.15.
As we can see from these recent developments within Leidos Holdings Inc., the company’s ownership landscape has seen some significant shifts among institutional investors and its stock performance has garnered mixed reviews from various research firms. These changes and evaluations will likely impact Leidos’ future trajectory but only time will tell how they ultimately play out.
