Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $2.21 Million Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 66.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 81,039 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.18% of Astec Industries worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,433,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,176,000 after acquiring an additional 22,154 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Astec Industries by 1.1% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 818,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,372,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Astec Industries by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,392,000 after purchasing an additional 75,989 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Astec Industries by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 431,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,672,000 after purchasing an additional 47,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $43.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $990.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.47 and a twelve month high of $65.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.16 and its 200 day moving average is $54.76.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate 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.