Leidos (LDOS) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

Leidos (LDOS) closed the most recent trading day at $162.54, moving -2.01% from the previous trading session. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.15%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 1.38%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.38%.

The security and engineering company's shares have seen a decrease of 4.4% over the last month, surpassing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 5.27% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.69%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Leidos in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.94, down 1.01% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $4.3 billion, indicating a 1.32% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $12.32 per share and a revenue of $17.81 billion, demonstrating changes of +2.75% and +3.73%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Leidos. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.8% lower. As of now, Leidos holds a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Digging into valuation, Leidos currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.47. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 12.5 for its industry.

It's also important to note that LDOS currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.16. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Computers - IT Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.14.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 78, this industry ranks in the top 32% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research