Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) Short Interest Up 17.2% in February

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, an increase of 17.2% from the February 13th total of 1,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 384,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Astronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Astronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Astronics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRO opened at $25.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.77 and its 200 day moving average is $18.59. Astronics has a 1 year low of $14.13 and a 1 year high of $25.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.73 million, a P/E ratio of -131.57 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $208.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.91 million. Astronics had a positive return on equity of 6.94% and a negative net margin of 0.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Astronics will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Keane sold 77,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $1,892,780.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,794.30. The trade was a 92.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 10.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Astronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATRO. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Astronics by 355.5% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Astronics by 167.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Astronics during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Astronics by 337.9% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,356 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 4,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Astronics in the third quarter valued at $106,000. 56.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astronics Company Profile

Astronics Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defense, and electronics industries in the United States, rest of North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Test Systems. The Aerospace segment offers lighting and safety systems, electrical power generation systems, distribution and seat motions systems, aircraft structures, avionics products, system certification, and other products.