Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $56.00 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.93 and its 200-day moving average is $53.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $37.82 and a 12 month high of $65.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.34.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 1.75%. Equities analysts anticipate that Astec Industries will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 142.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after purchasing an additional 203,911 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 48.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 184.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after purchasing an additional 124,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew 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 own 93.16% 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.