Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $40.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.87% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Astec Industries Stock Up 15.5 %

Astec Industries stock opened at $36.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $821.01 million, a P/E ratio of -450.02 and a beta of 1.31. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $359.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth about $353,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after buying an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 118.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 22,017 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 38.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 319.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 12,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services.