Stifel Nicolaus Downgrades Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) to Hold

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $37.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $47.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.56% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $33.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Astec Industries has a 52 week low of $28.97 and a 52 week high of $56.33. The stock has a market cap of $768.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.35.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $309.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.27 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Astec Industries will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Astec Industries by 32.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 5,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 15.9% in the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 4,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 1.8% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Astec Industries by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.