Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $28.61

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $28.61 and last traded at $28.78, with a volume of 50993 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ASTE shares. StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $705.33 million, a PE ratio of 28.43 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.58 and its 200 day moving average is $36.15.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.47). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $309.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Astec Industries’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Astec Industries news, insider Michael Paul Norris purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.46 per share, for a total transaction of $33,460.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 15,886 shares in the company, valued at $531,545.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 5.8% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 131,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after buying an additional 7,193 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $13,107,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $424,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Company Profile

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.