Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ASTE. Longbow Research upgraded shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Down 4.6%

ASTE opened at $56.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.34. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $37.82 and a twelve month high of $65.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.00, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 41.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 67,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 19,871 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 163,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Astec Industries by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 83,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,604,000 after purchasing an additional 26,588 shares during the period. Finally, Mangrove Partners IM LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Company Profile

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.