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Astronics Corporation ATRO, with rising earnings estimates, low debt, high liquidity and a rising backlog, offers a great investment opportunity in the Zacks Aerospace Defense Equipment industry.

Let’s focus on the reasons that make this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock an attractive investment pick at the moment.

Growth Projections & Surprise History of ATRO

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Astronics’ 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 17.3% to $1.29 in the past 30 days and indicates year-over-year growth of 18.4%.

The consensus estimate for ATRO’s 2025 total revenues is pinned at $829.5 million, which indicates year-over-year growth of 4.3%.

It delivered an earnings surprise of 128.57% in the last reported quarter.

Astronics’ Debt Position

Currently, the company’s total debt to capital is 39.7%, better than the industry’s average of 53.5%.

ATRO’s Liquidity

Astronics’ current ratio at the end of the fourth quarter was 2.73. A current ratio of greater than one indicates the company’s ability to meet its future short-term liabilities without difficulties.

ATRO’s ROE

ROE indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, ATRO’s ROE is 10.79% compared with its industry’s average of 9.79%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its funds more constructively than its peers in the industry.

Rising Backlog for Astronics

Astronics had an excellent backlog of $599.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2024, up from $592.3 million at the end of 2023. Such significant backlog trends boost the company's revenue-generating possibilities for the following quarters.

ATRO Stock Price Performance

Shares of ATRO have gained 22.8% in the past month compared with the industry’s 8.1% growth.

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Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks from the same sector are Mercury Systems MRCY, Triumph Group TGI and Leidos Holdings, Inc. LDOS. Each of these stocks currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Mercury Systems has a long-term earnings growth rate of 13.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRCY’s fiscal 2025 sales is pinned at $878.8 million, which indicates year-over-year growth of 5.2%.

Triumph Group delivered an average earnings surprise of 159.38% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TGI’s fiscal 2026 sales is pinned at $1.32 billion, which indicates growth of 11.5% from the fiscal 2025 estimated figure.

Leidos Holdings has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LDOS’ 2025 sales is pinned at $17.1 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 2.6%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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