Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 1.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,513,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,535 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Astec Industries worth $120,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 412.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $136,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $62.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.49. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.65 and a 52 week high of $64.37.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $400.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.21 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 11.35%.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ASTE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “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.