Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of ASTE opened at $30.98 on Thursday. Astec Industries has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74. The company has a market capitalization of $706.34 million, a P/E ratio of -387.20 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.62.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Astec Industries

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.