Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $32.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.22. The company has a market cap of $743.35 million, a PE ratio of -407.45 and a beta of 1.31. Astec Industries has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -650.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.