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

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) was the target 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ATRO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Astronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Astronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Transactions at Astronics

In other news, Director Robert S. Keane sold 77,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total transaction of $1,892,780.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,346 shares in the company, valued at $155,794.30. This trade represents a 92.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 10.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Astronics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATRO. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Astronics by 32.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 84,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Astronics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 81,169 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Astronics by 367.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 56,072 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 44,070 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Astronics by 22.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 46,597 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 8,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Astronics by 92.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 20,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 9,956 shares in the last quarter. 56.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Astronics Trading Down 0.3 %

Astronics stock opened at $25.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $881.73 million, a P/E ratio of -131.57 and a beta of 1.74. Astronics has a 12 month low of $14.13 and a 12 month high of $25.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

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.