Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 3.50%.The company had revenue of $350.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.00 million.

Astec Industries Trading Down 0.4%

ASTE stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.20. The company had a trading volume of 92,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,747. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.77. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $29.65 and a 12 month high of $50.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.43.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity at Astec Industries

In other Astec Industries news, insider Barend Snyman sold 2,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $117,955.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,695.98. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Astec Industries by 412.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASTE. Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

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.