Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 48.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 342,789 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $74,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.6% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 57,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth about $47,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 185.8% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 97.9% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $46.96 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.01 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 276.24 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $264,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 285,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,083,654.25. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $201,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,341,707.10. The trade was a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,036 shares of company stock valued at $8,455,857. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KTOS. Truist Financial raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.29.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.