Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 153,704 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,563,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.10% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KTOS. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $266,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. Benchmark upped their price target 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. JMP Securities set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS stock opened at $59.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.20 and a 200-day moving average of $35.90. The company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 459.80 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.91 and a 12-month high of $61.43.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total value of $202,380.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,514,693.32. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $515,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 384,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,214,990.04. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,572 shares of company stock worth $5,352,006. Insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company 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.