AstroNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALOT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

AstroNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALOT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,500 shares, a drop of 45.6% from the October 15th total of 24,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded AstroNova from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstroNova

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALOT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AstroNova by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 349,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AstroNova during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AstroNova by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 68,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.02% of the company’s stock.

AstroNova Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALOT traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,307. The business’s 50-day moving average is $13.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $105.58 million, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.55. AstroNova has a 52-week low of $11.82 and a 52-week high of $18.83.

AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 16th. The business services provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $40.54 million during the quarter. AstroNova had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 7.77%.

About AstroNova

AstroNova, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes specialty printers, and data acquisition and analysis systems in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, Central and South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Product Identification (PI) and Test & Measurement (T&M).