Dean Capital Management Sells 61,647 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Dean Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 70.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 61,647 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ASTE. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Astec Industries by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 8,847 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the first quarter valued at $1,526,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 188.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 148,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after buying an additional 96,883 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 2.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 65,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 2.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 46,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $56.12 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.11, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.43 and a 1 year high of $65.69.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $393.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Astec Industries Profile

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.