StockNews.com Upgrades Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) to “Buy”

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

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

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE opened at $39.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $890.42 million, a P/E ratio of -488.13 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. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.60.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The company had revenue of $291.40 million during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $49,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22,017 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries by 4.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,180,000 after buying an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 20,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 9,025 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is 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.