Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Astec Industries Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $35.58 on Friday. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $44.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.67. The stock has a market cap of $811.30 million, a PE ratio of -444.69 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $359.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.10 million.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is -650.00%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 93.16% of the stock is 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.