Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at Astronics

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATRO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Astronics by 101.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,906 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Astronics by 158.3% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Astronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Astronics during the first quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Astronics during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATRO. Truist Financial raised their target price on Astronics from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Astronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Astronics Stock Performance

Shares of ATRO traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.78. The company had a trading volume of 16,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,076. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.72. Astronics has a 1 year low of $14.06 and a 1 year high of $22.44.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $195.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.35 million. Astronics had a negative return on equity of 6.53% and a negative net margin of 3.83%. On average, analysts forecast that Astronics will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal 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.