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Is Leidos (LDOS) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Leidos (LDOS - Free Report) . LDOS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.04. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.20. Over the past year, LDOS's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.34 and as low as 14.20, with a median of 16.45.

LDOS is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.08. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LDOS's industry has an average PEG of 1.51 right now. Within the past year, LDOS's PEG has been as high as 2.06 and as low as 1.08, with a median of 1.60.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. LDOS has a P/S ratio of 1.3. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.77.

Finally, we should also recognize that LDOS has a P/CF ratio of 14.66. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 27.64. Over the past 52 weeks, LDOS's P/CF has been as high as 18.38 and as low as 13.19, with a median of 15.27.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Leidos's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, LDOS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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