Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Price Target Raised to $40.00

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) had its target price upped by Robert W. Baird from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE stock opened at $37.82 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $862.30 million, a P/E ratio of -472.69 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.49. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -649.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 52,571 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $319,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 5,668 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 19,134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

About Astec Industries

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.