Boeing (NYSE:BA – Get Free Report) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.
Volatility & Risk
Boeing has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Boeing | $89.46 billion | 1.52 | $2.23 billion | $9.19 | 18.65 |
| Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | $1.52 billion | 5.07 | $22.00 million | $0.17 | 241.71 |
Boeing has higher revenue and earnings than Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. Boeing 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.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Boeing | 3 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 2.61 |
| Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | 2 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 2.92 |
Boeing currently has a consensus target price of $246.92, indicating a potential upside of 44.05%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus target price of $86.40, indicating a potential upside of 110.27%. Given Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is more favorable than Boeing.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
64.8% of Boeing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Boeing shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Boeing and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Boeing | 7.98% | -42.40% | -1.53% |
| Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | 2.03% | 3.07% | 2.55% |
Summary
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions beats Boeing on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Boeing
The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments. The Commercial Airplanes segment develops, produces, and markets commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as provides fleet support services. The Defense, Space & Security segment engages in the research, development, production, and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems; strategic defense and intelligence systems, which include strategic missile and defense systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber and information solutions, and intelligence systems; and satellite systems, such as government and commercial satellites, and space exploration. The Global Services segment offers products and services, including supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance and modifications, upgrades and conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training systems and services, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics and digital services to commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions. The US segment refers to the unmanned aerial, unmanned ground, unmanned seaborne and related command, control and communications system businesses. The company was founded on December 19, 1994, and is headquartered in Round Rock, TX.
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