Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) Short Interest Update

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,190,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the March 15th total of 2,500,000 shares. Currently, 10.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 461,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Astronics Price Performance

Shares of ATRO stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $21.20. 265,927 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 289,240. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.20. The firm has a market cap of $747.70 million, a PE ratio of -111.57 and a beta of 1.26. 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 has a 1-year low of $14.13 and a 1-year high of $26.63.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.27. The firm 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Astronics will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Keane sold 77,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total transaction of $1,892,780.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,346 shares in the company, valued at $155,794.30. The trade was a 92.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 10.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Astronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astronics by 355.5% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Astronics by 167.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,156 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Astronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in shares of Astronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Astronics by 16,616.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,018 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,982 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ATRO. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Astronics from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Astronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Astronics Company Profile

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.