JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO - Free Report) by 154.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,406 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 143,452 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.67% of Astronics worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Astronics by 355.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Astronics in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in Astronics in the fourth quarter worth about $135,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Astronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Astronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Institutional investors own 56.68% of the company's stock.

Astronics Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRO traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.46. 576,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 287,946. The stock has a market cap of $721.60 million, a P/E ratio of -107.68 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.19. Astronics Co. has a 52-week low of $14.13 and a 52-week high of $26.63.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.27. Astronics had a positive return on equity of 6.94% and a negative net margin of 0.82%. The business had revenue of $208.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Astronics Co. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Keane sold 77,099 shares of Astronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $1,892,780.45. Following the completion of the sale, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ATRO. StockNews.com raised Astronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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.

Astronics 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.