Truist Financial Reiterates Buy Rating for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Truist Financial in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $27.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $25.00. Truist Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.73% from the stock’s previous close.

KTOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 1.2 %

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.33. The company had a trading volume of 75,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,807. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.56 and a beta of 1.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $14.33 and a 1 year high of $24.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.73 and a 200 day moving average of $20.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 298,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,960,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Eric M. Demarco acquired 12,396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.19 per share, for a total transaction of $250,275.24. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,058,264 shares in the company, valued at $21,366,350.16. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 298,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,960,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,210 shares of company stock worth $1,505,072. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $46,177,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 14.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,972,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $256,813,000 after buying an additional 1,807,580 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 108.7% in the first quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 2,556,787 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $46,994,000 after buying an additional 1,331,499 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter valued at $11,198,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,374,077 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,396,000 after buying an additional 511,538 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.