Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 425.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 52.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $38.61 on Monday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $44.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.71 and a 200-day moving average of $32.56. The company has a market cap of $880.31 million, a PE ratio of -482.56 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently -649.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th.

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.