Martin & Co. Inc. TN Makes New Investment in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Martin & Co. Inc. TN purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 84,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,166,000. Astec Industries comprises 0.8% of Martin & Co. Inc. TN’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASTE. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 8,994.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Astec Industries by 412.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ASTE shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $43.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.33. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.47 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%.The business had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

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

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.