Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Stake Increased by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 152.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,261 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vision Retirement LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 427.0% during the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 333.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KTOS. Wedbush assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays began coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, October 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $135.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 1.1%

KTOS stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.68. 4,199,985 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,628,748. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.80 and a 200-day moving average of $53.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.54. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.37 and a 1 year high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 227.53 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total value of $393,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,180,313.76. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 65,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,135,310.50. This represents a 13.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 382,013 shares of company stock valued at $23,856,842. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.