Granite Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Granite Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,102,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 136,106 shares during the period. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions accounts for approximately 0.9% of Granite Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.73% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $22,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KTOS. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 120,800.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 179.1% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $27,194.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,272,297.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.68, for a total value of $158,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 377,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,557,662.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $27,194.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at $1,272,297.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,210 shares of company stock worth $1,652,702 in the last ninety days. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS opened at $22.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.22 and a beta of 1.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.98 and a twelve month high of $24.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm had revenue of $300.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.