Arizona State Retirement System Acquires Shares of 6,266 Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at about $233,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 7.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 5,668 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at about $319,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 64.3% during the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after acquiring an additional 52,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at about $236,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $36.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $835.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -458.07 and a beta of 1.32. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 273.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

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.