For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Kratos (KTOS) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Aerospace sector should help us answer this question.
Kratos is one of 51 companies in the Aerospace group. The Aerospace group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Kratos is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KTOS' full-year earnings has moved 4.4% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that KTOS has returned about 32.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Aerospace sector has returned an average of 6.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Kratos is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Aerospace sector, Leidos (LDOS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 11.8%.
For Leidos, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Kratos belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, which includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #55 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 40.2% this year, meaning that KTOS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
Leidos, however, belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry. Currently, this 24-stock industry is ranked #180. The industry has moved -4.2% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Aerospace sector may want to keep a close eye on Kratos and Leidos as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
