Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) Short Interest Up 9.0% in March

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 324,300 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the March 15th total of 297,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 131,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael C. Kuehn sold 7,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.72, for a total transaction of $125,351.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,875 shares in the company, valued at $228,145. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael C. Kuehn sold 2,209 shares of Astronics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.16, for a total value of $44,533.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,248 shares in the company, valued at $287,239.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael C. Kuehn sold 7,074 shares of Astronics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.72, for a total value of $125,351.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,145. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 10.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Astronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astronics by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,424,677 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,818,000 after acquiring an additional 40,424 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Astronics by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 114,126 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 9,783 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Astronics by 352.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 32,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Astronics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 69,536 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ATRO. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Astronics from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Astronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Astronics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ATRO opened at $16.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $575.10 million, a P/E ratio of -20.32 and a beta of 1.62. Astronics has a 1 year low of $14.06 and a 1 year high of $22.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.86.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. Astronics had a negative net margin of 3.83% and a negative return on equity of 6.53%. The business had revenue of $195.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.35 million. Research analysts anticipate that Astronics will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

About Astronics

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.