Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases Shares of 484,715 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has acquired a $14.39 million stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, purchasing 484,715 shares during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, significantly increased their holdings in Kratos Defense, with institutional investors now owning 75.92% of the company's stock.
• Kratos Defense recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, exceeding estimates, alongside a 17.1% year-on-year revenue growth, totaling $351.50 million for the quarter.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 484,715 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $14,391,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,118,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,402,444 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $71,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,223 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $522,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,299 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $515,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 384,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,214,990.04. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.16, for a total transaction of $252,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 276,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,639,743.60. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,786 shares of company stock worth $4,102,682. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.75. 5,173,230 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,901,829. The company has a quick ratio of 3.88, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.69 and a 1-year high of $71.11. The company's fifty day moving average price is $50.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.35. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 687.57 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KTOS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.92.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Profile

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.