Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 40.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 274,239 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 182,561 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $5,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 120,800.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 222.5% during the 4th 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. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 87.5% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $27,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,218,605.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total transaction of $27,270.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,030 shares in the company, valued at $1,218,605.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 298,016 shares in the company, valued at $5,960,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 165,720 shares of company stock valued at $3,511,521. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $20.52. The company had a trading volume of 149,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,904. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.08. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.13 and a 1 year high of $22.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 78.77 and a beta of 1.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $277.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KTOS. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.