Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE Position Lessened by Dean Capital Management

Dean Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 73.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,611 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 67,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 19,871 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 83,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,604,000 after buying an additional 26,588 shares in the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,056,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 192,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,319,000 after buying an additional 102,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE stock opened at $56.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.65. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.88 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

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.