Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $64.86 and last traded at $64.8990, with a volume of 37864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Up 6.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.93.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.32. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.75%.The business had revenue of $400.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Astec Industries 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 transaction of $59,543.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,042,000 after acquiring an additional 203,911 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,113,000 after acquiring an additional 163,155 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1,800.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,853,000 after acquiring an additional 134,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,345,000 after acquiring an additional 132,095 shares during 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.