Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks reports.

ASTE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Down 5.0%

ASTE opened at $39.21 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $902.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.13, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.33. Astec Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.34 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its 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 return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%.The firm had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $405.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Astec Industries will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 61.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $235,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: ASTE) designs, engineers, manufactures and services equipment used in the construction of infrastructure and the processing of aggregates. Its products support road building, asphalt production, concrete production, aggregate processing and related industrial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants and related equipment, concrete plants, crushers, screens, feeders, material-handling systems, thermal-processing equipment and road-building machinery.