Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,807 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,807 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $3,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

ASTE opened at $33.29 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $44.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $759.08 million, a PE ratio of -416.07 and a beta of 1.30.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.