Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $34.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.67. The company has a market cap of $796.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -436.82 and a beta of 1.31. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 319.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 12,217 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.