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

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) saw a significant 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 volume of 384,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Astronics Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Astronics stock opened at $25.01 on Wednesday. Astronics has a 1 year low of $14.13 and a 1 year high of $25.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.50. The company has a market capitalization of $882.08 million, a P/E ratio of -131.62 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $208.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.91 million. Astronics had a positive return on equity of 6.94% and a negative net margin of 0.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Astronics will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Astronics news, Director Robert S. Keane sold 77,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $1,892,780.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,794.30. The trade was a 92.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATRO. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astronics by 881.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 414,823 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,621,000 after buying an additional 372,565 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in Astronics by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 881,504 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,069,000 after purchasing an additional 325,904 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Astronics by 493.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 363,286 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,798,000 after purchasing an additional 302,092 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Astronics by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,150,355 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,360,000 after purchasing an additional 181,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Astronics by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 286,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,576,000 after purchasing an additional 166,900 shares in the last quarter. 56.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.