Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Astec Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $57.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.93. Astec Industries has a one year low of $29.65 and a one year high of $57.88.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. Astec Industries had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $350.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.00 million.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,096,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 539,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after purchasing an additional 178,545 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,113,000 after buying an additional 163,155 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 1,800.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,853,000 after buying an additional 134,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 77,508.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,500,000 after buying an additional 131,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.