Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ (KTOS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on KTOS. BTIG Research started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a neutral rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. They issued a market outperform rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of KTOS opened at $22.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.45 and a 200 day moving average of $19.98. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 68.69 and a beta of 1.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $13.98 and a 52-week high of $23.23.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $300.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.08 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $27,194.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,272,297.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $27,194.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at $1,272,297.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.09, for a total transaction of $147,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 384,160 shares in the company, valued at $8,101,934.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,355 shares of company stock worth $1,545,240. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,177,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 14.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,972,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $256,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,580 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 108.7% in the 1st quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 2,556,787 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $46,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331,499 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,198,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,374,077 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,396,000 after purchasing an additional 511,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.