Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) versus AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) Financial Review

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AGCO has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Astec Industries and AGCO, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0	2	1	2	3.00
AGCO	2	7	5	0	2.21

Astec Industries presently has a consensus target price of $52.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.73%. AGCO has a consensus target price of $123.67, suggesting a potential upside of 9.31%. Given Astec Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Astec Industries is more favorable than AGCO.

Dividends

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. AGCO pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries pays out 104.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AGCO pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AGCO has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Astec Industries and AGCO”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.41 billion	0.60	$38.80 million	$0.50	73.90
AGCO	$10.08 billion	0.77	$726.50 million	$3.89	29.08

AGCO has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. AGCO is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of AGCO shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Astec Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of AGCO shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Astec Industries and AGCO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	0.74%	8.60%	4.16%
AGCO	2.76%	9.66%	3.39%

Summary

AGCO beats Astec Industries on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries is a manufacturer of equipment and services for the infrastructure, road construction and aggregate industries. Its products support the production and handling of asphalt, concrete and crushed stone, as well as the construction and maintenance of roads. The company’s offerings include asphalt production plants, roadbuilding equipment, crushers, screens, material washing systems and concrete batch plants. Astec also provides parts, service and other support for its equipment. Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Astec serves customers in the United States and international markets.

About AGCO

AGCO Corporation designs, manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and technology for farmers around the world. Its products include tractors, combines, hay and forage equipment, sprayers, seeding and tillage equipment, grain storage systems, and precision agriculture solutions. The company’s brands include Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra, and PTx, its precision agriculture business. AGCO was formed in 1990 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia. AGCO serves agricultural markets globally through a network of dealers and other distribution partners.