Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $26.00 and last traded at $30.65, with a volume of 726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASTE shares. StockNews.com lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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.

Astec Industries Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $693.01 million, a PE ratio of -378.64 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.65. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -649.92%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $353,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,180,000 after buying an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Astec Industries by 118.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 22,017 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 319.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 12,217 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.