Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 118.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 22,017 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $1,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $64,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $31.40 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.28. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.74. The company has a market capitalization of $715.98 million, a P/E ratio of -392.45 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.66%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -650.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.