Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 500,300 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the November 15th total of 425,500 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after acquiring an additional 142,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,465,000 after buying an additional 84,202 shares in the last quarter. Mill Road Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth about $2,467,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its position in Astec Industries by 64.3% during the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,290,000 after buying an additional 52,571 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,212,000 after acquiring an additional 51,141 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASTE traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.10. 69,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 146,455. The stock has a market capitalization of $845.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -463.75 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.90. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The firm had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services.