Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Reaches New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $64.35 and last traded at $56.3620, with a volume of 75689 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.50.

The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $400.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.21 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 11.93%.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,513,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $120,976,000 after purchasing an additional 34,535 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 9,174 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Astec Industries by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,345,000 after buying an additional 132,095 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,392,000 after buying an additional 75,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 578,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,109,000 after buying an additional 11,365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.53.

Astec Industries Company 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.