Ieq Capital LLC Invests $807,000 in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Astec Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Astec Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 8,994.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 412.0% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth $127,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Up 0.4%

ASTE opened at $44.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.87 and its 200 day moving average is $54.05. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.47 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The business had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ASTE. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.