Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Astec Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday.

Astec Industries Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of ASTE stock traded down $0.78 on Thursday, reaching $32.38. 459,410 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 161,951. The company has a market capitalization of $736.32 million, a P/E ratio of 29.71 and a beta of 1.40. Astec Industries has a 12-month low of $28.97 and a 12-month high of $56.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.23.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $309.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.27 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The company’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Astec Industries will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 8.2% in the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 5,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 4,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.