Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Grows Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,025 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth $45,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $33.29 on Friday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74. The company has a market capitalization of $759.08 million, a PE ratio of -416.07 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its 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 negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

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.