Astronics Corporation $ATRO Stock Acquired by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) by 771.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,000 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Astronics were worth $3,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Astronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $248,395,000. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Astronics by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 449,126 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,970,000 after acquiring an additional 206,399 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Astronics by 320.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 222,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,875,000 after acquiring an additional 169,900 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Astronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,223,000. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in Astronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,717,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.68% of the company’s stock.

Astronics Stock Down 4.0%

Astronics stock opened at $59.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Astronics Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $94.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.43.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.30 million. Astronics’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Astronics Corporation will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ATRO shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Astronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Astronics in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astronics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astronics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.58.

Astronics Company Profile

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.