Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $38.28 and last traded at $38.3450, with a volume of 49,270 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASTE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Trading Down 1.3%

The firm has a market cap of $884.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.10). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $408.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,732,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the second quarter worth $14,783,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the second quarter worth $13,538,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 105.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 301,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,136,000 after buying an additional 154,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the second quarter valued at $6,075,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: ASTE) designs, engineers, manufactures and services equipment used in the construction of infrastructure and the processing of aggregates. Its products support road building, asphalt production, concrete production, aggregate processing and related industrial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants and related equipment, concrete plants, crushers, screens, feeders, material-handling systems, thermal-processing equipment and road-building machinery.