Robert W. Baird Raises Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Price Target to $41.00

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $40.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.23% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.8 %

ASTE stock opened at $35.58 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $811.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -444.69 and a beta of 1.31. Astec Industries has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at $353,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 4.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,180,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 118.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22,017 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 38.5% in the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Astec Industries by 319.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 12,217 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.