Groupe la Francaise Takes $1.71 Million Position in AstroNova, Inc. $ALOT

Key Points

• Groupe la Française acquired 60,000 AstroNova shares worth approximately $1.71 million during the second quarter, representing about 0.77% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 43.02% of ALOT.
• AstroNova’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $0.19 versus a $0.05 consensus estimate and revenue of $39.36 million versus expectations of $30.67 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains negative overall: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Sell” rating, despite one research firm upgrading the stock to “strong-buy.” ALOT opened at $28.99, near its 52-week high of $29.00.

Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in AstroNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALOT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 60,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,708,000. Groupe la Francaise owned about 0.77% of AstroNova as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in AstroNova during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstroNova during the fourth quarter worth about $125,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in AstroNova in the second quarter worth approximately $140,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AstroNova during the 3rd quarter worth $143,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in AstroNova during the 2nd quarter worth about $257,000. 43.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALOT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AstroNova in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised AstroNova from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Sell".

AstroNova Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALOT opened at $28.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $227.31 million, a PE ratio of -161.05 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.14. AstroNova, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.96 and a 1-year high of $29.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $39.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.67 million. AstroNova had a positive return on equity of 2.94% and a negative net margin of 0.88%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS.

AstroNova Company Profile

AstroNova, Inc is a global provider of precision graphic communications equipment and identification solutions. The company operates two primary business segments: the NovaTech division, which designs and manufactures high‐speed data acquisition, recording and analysis systems for industrial, power generation, oil and gas, aerospace and defense markets; and the AstroNova division, which offers digital color label printing and packaging solutions under brands such as QuickLabel and RTag. These products are engineered to support mission‐critical applications that require reliable data capture or product identification across complex supply chains.

Headquartered in West Warwick, Rhode Island, AstroNova traces its heritage to the development of ruggedized oscillographs and recording instruments for industrial clients.

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