Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $39.38 and last traded at $39.7110, with a volume of 2059 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Trading Down 1.3%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $914.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.34. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $408.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.50 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 10.26%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the second quarter worth $212,732,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,433,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,176,000 after buying an additional 22,154 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 342,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,840,000 after buying an additional 45,203 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the second quarter worth about $14,783,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the second quarter worth about $13,538,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers and manufactures equipment used in the infrastructure, aggregate processing, mining and energy industries. Its products support the production and handling of asphalt, concrete and other construction materials, as well as road building, recycling and related industrial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes asphalt production plants, concrete plants, rock crushers, screens, feeders, material-handling systems, thermal-processing equipment and industrial heaters.