Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

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

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $32.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $743.35 million, a PE ratio of -407.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.88 and a 200-day moving average of $33.22. Astec Industries has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $353,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 1.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,637,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Astec Industries by 72.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 73,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 30,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.