StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

AstroNova Price Performance

Shares of ALOT stock opened at $8.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.66 million, a P/E ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.64. AstroNova has a 1-year low of $7.53 and a 1-year high of $18.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The business services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter. AstroNova had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $37.36 million for the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard S. Warzala acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.07 per share, for a total transaction of $161,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 60,385 shares in the company, valued at $487,306.95. This trade represents a 49.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AstroNova

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstroNova by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 39,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in AstroNova by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 65,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstroNova by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 70,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstroNova by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 15,544 shares during the period. Finally, Peapod Lane Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstroNova during the 4th quarter valued at $1,536,000. 43.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstroNova Company Profile

AstroNova, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes specialty printers, and data acquisition and analysis systems in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, Central and South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Product Identification (PI) and Test & Measurement (T&M).