Sei Investments Co. Purchases 19,147 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,147 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.51% of Astec Industries worth $6,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASTE. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 142.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after buying an additional 203,911 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 184.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after buying an additional 124,111 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 29.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after acquiring an additional 113,765 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $8,319,000 after acquiring an additional 102,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 137,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,595,000 after acquiring an additional 98,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Up 3.7%

Astec Industries stock opened at $52.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.92, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.86. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.09 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted 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). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 1.75%.The firm had revenue of $396.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $393.24 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries 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.