Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $38.34 on Monday. 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 has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $874.23 million, a P/E ratio of -479.25 and a beta of 1.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is -650.00%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Barclays PLC boosted 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 worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 22,017 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings 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.