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

Astronics Co. (NASDAQ:ATRO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 416,700 shares, a growth of 11.4% from the September 30th total of 373,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 147,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Astronics by 10.4% during the first quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 899,351 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $17,124,000 after purchasing an additional 84,659 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Astronics during the third quarter worth about $964,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Astronics during the second quarter worth about $857,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Astronics by 4.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 888,942 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $17,806,000 after acquiring an additional 40,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP boosted its stake in Astronics by 7.3% in the first quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 545,754 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,391,000 after acquiring an additional 36,980 shares during the period. 56.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Astronics from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Astronics Stock Performance

Shares of Astronics stock opened at $18.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $638.65 million, a PE ratio of -23.81 and a beta of 1.82. Astronics has a 1 year low of $14.11 and a 1 year high of $23.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The aerospace company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.13). Astronics had a negative return on equity of 0.31% and a negative net margin of 1.57%. The firm had revenue of $198.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.37) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Astronics will post 0.36 earnings per share 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.