Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $40.47 and last traded at $41.3210, with a volume of 19338 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Up 3.0%

The stock has a market cap of $976.05 million, a PE ratio of 49.85, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $408.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $405.50 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 61.18%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after buying an additional 8,847 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the 1st quarter worth $1,526,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 188.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 148,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 96,883 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 65,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 2.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 46,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

About Astec Industries

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.