Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) Competitors

Heico (NYSE:HEI) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in HEI or KTOS?

27.1% of Heico shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.6% of Heico shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, HEI or KTOS?

Heico has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor HEI or KTOS?

In the previous week, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had 8 more articles in the media than Heico. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and 19 mentions for Heico. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat Heico's score of 0.86 indicating that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Heico	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions	21 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is HEI or KTOS more profitable?

Heico has a net margin of 14.54% compared to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' net margin of 1.20%. Heico's return on equity of 15.88% beat Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heico	14.54%	15.88%	7.76%
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions	1.20%	3.10%	2.22%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, HEI or KTOS?

Heico has higher revenue and earnings than Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. Heico is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heico	$4.13B	10.43	$514.11M	$4.28	72.40
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions	$1.14B	9.91	$16.30M	$0.10	667.10

Do analysts prefer HEI or KTOS?

Heico presently has a consensus target price of $307.18, indicating a potential downside of 0.87%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus target price of $57.64, indicating a potential downside of 13.59%. Given Heico's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Heico is more favorable than Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heico	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94

Summary

Heico beats Kratos Defense & Security Solutions on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.