Citigroup Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.3%, selling 158,808 shares, leaving it with 384,062 shares valued at approximately $11.4 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Kratos, including WealthPlan Investment Management, which boosted its stake by 107.8%, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy", Truist Financial has raised the target price for Kratos shares from $38.00 to $52.00, suggesting potential for growth amidst valuation concerns.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 29.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 384,062 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 158,808 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $11,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% in the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.6% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 8,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS traded down $3.3860 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.3540. The company had a trading volume of 1,417,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,336,964. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 4.43. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.58 and a 12 month high of $72.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 651.66 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.67 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. BTIG Research raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $247,904.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 318,766 shares in the company, valued at $12,033,416.50. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bobbi Doorenbos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $175,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 101,786 shares of company stock worth $4,443,682 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.