Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 63.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,355 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 118.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22,017 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Astec Industries by 38.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15,736 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 319.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 12,217 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 upped their price objective on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Trading Up 3.1 %

ASTE stock opened at $36.72 on Tuesday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $837.36 million, a P/E ratio of -458.94 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.05.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

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

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.