Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financial Prospects Look Decent: Is The Market Wrong?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' (NASDAQ:KTOS) recent performance, when its stock has declined 12% over the past month. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. In this article, we decided to focus on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' ROE.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is:

8.8% = US$84m ÷ US$951m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.09 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' Earnings Growth And 8.8% ROE

When you first look at it, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' ROE doesn't look that attractive. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 12%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions grew its net income at a significant rate of 74% in the last five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

As a next step, we compared Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 17%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. What is KTOS worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether KTOS is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Conclusion

On the whole, we do feel that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has some positive attributes. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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.
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