The Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
51.4% of The Boeing shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of The Boeing shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.5% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares The Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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The Boeing | -7.34% | N/A | -3.85% |
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | 0.62% | 3.99% | 2.13% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares The Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
The Boeing | $76.56 billion | 1.79 | $-636,000,000.00 | ($3.47) | -67.93 |
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | $717.50 million | 4.58 | $12.50 million | $0.26 | 102.12 |
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has lower revenue, but higher earnings than The Boeing. The Boeing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for The Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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The Boeing | 5 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 2.38 |
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.22 |
The Boeing presently has a consensus target price of $234.0435, indicating a potential downside of 0.33%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus target price of $26.8889, indicating a potential upside of 2.20%. Given Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is more favorable than The Boeing.
Volatility and Risk
The Boeing has a beta of 1.65, suggesting that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions beats The Boeing on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.