Peregrine Capital Management LLC Has $5.55 Million Stock Position in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,952 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $5,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 8,994.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 412.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $127,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASTE. Freedom Capital raised shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astec Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $60.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 53.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.34. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.82 and a 12-month high of $65.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.36. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.24 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Astec Industries 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.