40,512 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 193,623 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40,512 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.10% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $8,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Vision Retirement LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 128.9% in the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.85, for a total transaction of $473,900.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 274,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,280,857.60. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.78, for a total value of $341,460.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,341,866.58. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 87,013 shares of company stock worth $4,515,482. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.91. 5,000,241 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,812,484. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.59. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 282.58 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 5.42. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.57 and a 52 week high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $471.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.40 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 3.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a defense technology company that develops products and services for U.S. government agencies, national security organizations, and allied governments. Its work spans unmanned systems, satellite communications, microwave electronics, command-and-control systems, and training and simulation. The company’s offerings include unmanned aerial vehicles and target drones, as well as systems and components used in space and satellite communications and other defense applications.