Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Update

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 378,000 shares, a decrease of 10.1% from the October 15th total of 420,400 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 147,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $36.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $837.29 million, a P/E ratio of -459.00 and a beta of 1.26. Astec Industries has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -650.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvey Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,007,000 after purchasing an additional 142,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 100.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,165,000 after acquiring an additional 105,280 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,465,000 after acquiring an additional 84,202 shares in the last quarter. Mill Road Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $2,467,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 251.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,217,000 after purchasing an additional 68,991 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services.