Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $30.97, but opened at $30.30. Astec Industries shares last traded at $30.41, with a volume of 6,177 shares traded.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $689.78 million, a PE ratio of 27.80 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.98 and a 200 day moving average of $34.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.11). Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.18% and a positive return on equity of 6.56%. The business had revenue of $345.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.35 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 47.71%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. SG Capital Management LLC grew its position in Astec Industries by 100.8% in the first quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,165,000 after acquiring an additional 105,280 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,131,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,083,000 after buying an additional 86,969 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 251.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,217,000 after buying an additional 68,991 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Astec Industries by 41.0% in the second quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,212,000 after buying an additional 51,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 7.7% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,247,000 after buying an additional 41,800 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Astec Industries

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.