American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Astronics Corporation $ATRO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Astronics Corporation by 34.0%, purchasing an additional 11,362 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 44,739 shares valued at $1,081,000.
• Astronics has experienced significant stock price movement, opening at $36.80 and reaching a 12-month high of $38.26, indicating strong market performance with a 100% year-to-date increase as of May.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Astronics, with the average consensus rating at "Strong Buy" and a target price of $49.00, despite recent downgrades by some firms.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO - Free Report) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,739 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,362 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.13% of Astronics worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new stake in Astronics in the first quarter valued at $3,070,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astronics in the first quarter valued at about $3,947,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astronics in the 1st quarter valued at about $586,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Astronics by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 50,851 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 9,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Astronics by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 94,102 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 45,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Astronics Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of ATRO traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.41. 357,506 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,815. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -319.31 and a beta of 1.69. Astronics Corporation has a 52 week low of $14.13 and a 52 week high of $39.50. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.37.

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

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.