Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $38.89 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.43. The firm has a market cap of $886.69 million, a PE ratio of -486.06 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Astec Industries has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently -649.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.