Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 232,807 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 174.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,154 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232,807 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $25,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $86,895.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 64,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,733,414.71. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.37, for a total value of $338,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 302,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,613,834.62. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 137,036 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,257 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS opened at $49.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 290.88 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $53.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.33. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.58 and a 1 year high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.