Earnest Partners LLC Takes Position in Astronics Corporation $ATRO

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC made a new investment in Astronics Corporation, purchasing 528,491 shares valued at approximately $12.77 million during the first quarter.
• Astronics reported a positive earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.33, alongside revenue of $204.68 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Astronics' stock, with Zacks Research dubbing it a "strong-buy" and Truist Financial assigning a price target of $49.00.

Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 528,491 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $12,774,000. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.50% of Astronics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Astronics by 12.9% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,400 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astronics during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,404,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Astronics by 67.8% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 75,874 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 30,654 shares during the period. Senator Investment Group LP increased its position in shares of Astronics by 7.6% during the first quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 708,883 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $17,134,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Astronics by 103,250.0% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 28,938 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 28,910 shares during the period. 56.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upgraded Astronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research raised Astronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Astronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment 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 a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $49.00.

Astronics Stock Performance

Shares of ATRO traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,906. Astronics Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.13 and a 1-year high of $38.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -297.20 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $204.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Astronics Corporation will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.