Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 15 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 84% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's market cap fell by US$371m last week. Still, the 23% one-year gains may have helped mitigate their overall losses. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.3% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.5% of common stock, and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. holds about 5.2% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Eric DeMarco, the CEO has 0.7% of the shares allocated to their name.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 15 have the combined ownership of 52% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$70m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 14% stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Kratos Defense & Security Solutions better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.