Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

ATRO has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Astronics in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astronics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Astronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Astronics in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.58.

Astronics Stock Performance

ATRO opened at $59.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 1.25. Astronics has a 1-year low of $34.58 and a 1-year high of $94.46.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The aerospace company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. Astronics had a return on equity of 67.69% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $259.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.30 million. Astronics’s revenue was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Astronics will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Astronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Astronics during the second quarter valued at $248,395,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Astronics by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 673,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,951,000 after acquiring an additional 34,018 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in Astronics by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 449,126 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,970,000 after acquiring an additional 206,399 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in Astronics by 78.1% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 279,159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,628,000 after acquiring an additional 122,440 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Astronics by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 253,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,916,000 after acquiring an additional 10,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.68% of the company’s stock.

About Astronics

Astronics Corporation is a aerospace and defense company that designs and manufactures advanced technologies for commercial, military and business aircraft. Its products and systems are used by original equipment manufacturers, airlines, aircraft operators and defense contractors.

The company’s offerings include aircraft electrical power systems, lighting and cabin-management systems, connectivity and inflight entertainment equipment, avionics and specialized aerospace components. Astronics also develops automated test systems and related equipment used to test and support electronic systems in the aerospace, defense and other high-technology industries.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in East Aurora, New York, Astronics serves customers in the United States and international markets through its manufacturing and engineering operations.