Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $52.25, but opened at $47.53. Astec Industries shares last traded at $47.01, with a volume of 116,179 shares.

The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.50 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 1.75%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASTE. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Astec Industries by 1.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,433,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,176,000 after buying an additional 22,154 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 1.1% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 818,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,372,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,392,000 after acquiring an additional 75,989 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 431,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,672,000 after acquiring an additional 47,142 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after acquiring an additional 203,911 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.89.

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.