Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning.

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

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $37.51 on Monday. Astec Industries has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.74. The company has a market cap of $855.23 million, a P/E ratio of -468.82 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.39.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -649.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the first quarter worth $66,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the first quarter valued at $116,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 425.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.