Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Position Boosted by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.10% of Astec Industries worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 65,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 41,462 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Astec Industries by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,273,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,805,000 after buying an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after buying an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 802.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ASTE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $39.56 on Monday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.95. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $42.70. The firm has a market cap of $904.62 million, a P/E ratio of -494.44 and a beta of 1.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $329.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 posted $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 78.79%.

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.