Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Boosts Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,025 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.09% of Astec Industries worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 9,841 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Astec Industries by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 875,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,952,000 after purchasing an additional 26,256 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $313,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 2.3 %

ASTE stock opened at $33.29 on Friday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.74. The company has a market capitalization of $759.08 million, a PE ratio of -416.07 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -650.00%.

Astec Industries Company 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.