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Leidos (LDOS) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

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In the latest trading session, Leidos (LDOS - Free Report) closed at $157.76, marking a +1.34% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.52% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.63%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.48%.

The security and engineering company's shares have seen an increase of 4.82% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 7.56% and outstripping the S&P 500's gain of 4.27%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Leidos in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.63, signifying steadiness compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $4.25 billion, indicating a 2.82% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $10.75 per share and revenue of $17.13 billion, indicating changes of +5.29% and +2.82%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Leidos. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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 witnessed a 0.66% increase. As of now, Leidos holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Leidos is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.48. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 19.74 of its industry.

We can additionally observe that LDOS currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.88. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Computers - IT Services industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.14 as of yesterday's close.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 54, this industry ranks in the top 22% 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.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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