Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,433,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 22,154 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Astec Industries worth $77,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Astec Industries by 47.0% during the fourth 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 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,056,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 115.0% during 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 period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $434,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. 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, Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Trading Up 0.8%

ASTE opened at $51.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.51 and its 200-day moving average is $54.82. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.88 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

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.