Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $39.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.92. The stock has a market cap of $904.62 million, a PE ratio of -494.44 and a beta of 1.40. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $42.70.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $329.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 802.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.