AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT) Coverage Initiated at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT - Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the business services provider's stock.

AstroNova Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ ALOT traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.01. 5,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,287. AstroNova has a 1-year low of $7.53 and a 1-year high of $18.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $8.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.44 million, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.83.

AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The business services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter. AstroNova had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 2.49%. The company had revenue of $37.36 million for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard S. Warzala purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $161,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,306.95. This trade represents a 49.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstroNova

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AstroNova in the fourth quarter valued at $4,507,000. Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AstroNova during the fourth quarter worth about $1,536,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AstroNova by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,544 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 15,544 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of AstroNova by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 65,359 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstroNova by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 39,274 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.02% of the company's stock.

About AstroNova

AstroNova, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes specialty printers, and data acquisition and analysis systems in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, Central and South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Product Identification (PI) and Test & Measurement (T&M).