Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 16,342 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,497,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,342 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Astec Industries worth $108,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 8,994.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 412.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $194,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $59,543.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $50.06 on Wednesday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $36.43 and a one year high of $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 44.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.34). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $393.24 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Longbow Research raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.