Easterly Investment Partners LLC Grows Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 115.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,709 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $8,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 8,994.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 412.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $182,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $194,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ASTE shares. Weiss Ratings cut Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total value of $59,543.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $50.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.38. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.61.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $396.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Astec Industries Profile

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.