Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Update

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 382,100 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the February 13th total of 446,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 172,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 5,668 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $319,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 52,571 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $36.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.20 and its 200-day moving average is $33.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $839.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -460.32 and a beta of 1.32.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 firm 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

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.