Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) experienced a significant trading volume with 466,569 shares traded, marking a 19% decline compared to the previous session.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions, with one firm downgrading Astronics from a "strong-buy" to a "hold," while another has raised it to a "buy" with a price target of $49.00.
• The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but had revenues that fell short of analysts' expectations at $204.68 million.

Shares of Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 466,569 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the previous session's volume of 577,410 shares.The stock last traded at $39.62 and had previously closed at $40.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Astronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Truist Financial raised Astronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Astronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Astronics Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.18 and a 200 day moving average of $29.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.04 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -332.31 and a beta of 1.69.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $204.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.29 million. Astronics had a positive return on equity of 22.89% and a negative net margin of 0.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astronics Corporation will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Astronics news, insider James Mulato sold 1,129 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total transaction of $43,082.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,066 shares in the company, valued at $40,678.56. This trade represents a 51.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astronics by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,601,632 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $38,711,000 after purchasing an additional 27,025 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astronics by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 746,956 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $18,054,000 after purchasing an additional 332,133 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Astronics by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 736,327 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $24,655,000 after acquiring an additional 22,134 shares during the last quarter. Senator Investment Group LP grew its position in Astronics by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 708,883 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $17,134,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Astronics during the 1st quarter worth $12,774,000. Institutional investors own 56.68% of the company's stock.

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.

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