Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $49.89, but opened at $47.25. Astec Industries shares last traded at $48.0550, with a volume of 11,314 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASTE shares. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astec Industries presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.2%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.41. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.89, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.34). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $393.24 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Insider Activity at Astec Industries

In other news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of Astec Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total value of $59,543.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $539,125.96. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 8,994.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 412.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $136,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $127,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Company 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.