AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 53.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,771 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASTE. SG Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,165,000 after buying an additional 105,280 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,217,000 after purchasing an additional 68,991 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,212,000 after purchasing an additional 51,141 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,800 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 73,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 30,717 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE stock opened at $31.94 on Monday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $46.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.95. The stock has a market cap of $727.11 million, a PE ratio of 29.30 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 47.71%.

Astec Industries 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.