Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,085 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.6% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 8,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KTOS shares. Wall Street Zen cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $54.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $515,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 384,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,214,990.04. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 7,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.59 per share, for a total transaction of $250,413.45. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,396,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,899,600.83. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,175,766 in the last ninety days. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $51.12 on Wednesday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.91 and a 12 month high of $52.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 393.26 and a beta of 1.06. The company's fifty day moving average price is $40.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.16.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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