Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $50.63 Million Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,168,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42,751 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.05% of Astec Industries worth $50,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $10,096,000. Harvey Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,113,000 after purchasing an additional 163,155 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 1,800.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,853,000 after purchasing an additional 134,896 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,345,000 after purchasing an additional 132,095 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after purchasing an additional 113,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $47.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.42. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.47. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $65.69.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $396.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of Astec Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total value of $59,543.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

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.