Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires New Position in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.05% of Astec Industries as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Martin & Co. Inc. TN bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,166,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries during the second quarter worth $807,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the second quarter worth $14,783,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the second quarter valued at $212,732,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of 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 report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $43.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 51.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.36. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.47 and a 1-year high of $65.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.14.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly 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). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 61.18%.

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.