Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ATRO. Zacks Research upgraded Astronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Astronics from $70.83 to $83.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Astronics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Astronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astronics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $74.17.

Astronics Stock Performance

Shares of ATRO stock opened at $93.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.56. Astronics has a 52 week low of $27.89 and a 52 week high of $94.46.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The aerospace company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. Astronics had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 67.69%. The firm had revenue of $259.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.30 million. Astronics’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Astronics will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Astronics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astronics by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,975,693 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,162,000 after purchasing an additional 39,527 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Astronics by 85.0% during the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 449,126 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,970,000 after purchasing an additional 206,399 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its stake in Astronics by 78.1% in the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 279,159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,628,000 after purchasing an additional 122,440 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Astronics by 20.6% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,476,000 after purchasing an additional 13,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Astronics by 153.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,039 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,740,000 after buying an additional 43,007 shares during the last quarter. 56.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astronics Company Profile

Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ: ATRO) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced technologies primarily for the aerospace, defense and semiconductor industries. Headquartered in East Aurora, New York, the company was founded in 1968 and has grown through a combination of internal development and strategic acquisitions. Astronics operates multiple business units focused on power conversion, distribution and control; cabin electronics and connectivity; aircraft lighting and safety solutions; and automated test systems.

The company’s aerospace products include onboard power generation and management systems, in-flight entertainment and connectivity hardware, LED and fluorescent lighting for aircraft cabins and cockpits, and safety equipment such as escape slide power units.