Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Longbow Research raised shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Astec Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Astec Industries stock opened at $51.07 on Tuesday. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.34). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 1.75%.The business had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $393.24 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Astec Industries will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Astec Industries

In other news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $59,543.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Astec Industries by 41.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 67,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after buying an additional 19,871 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Astec Industries by 190.4% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 9,332 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its position in Astec Industries by 48.3% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,113,000 after buying an additional 163,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Astec Industries by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,513,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $120,976,000 after buying an additional 34,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.