Kennedy Capital Management LLC Acquires 45,203 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 342,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,203 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.50% of Astec Industries worth $14,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 8,994.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 412.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $51.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.37. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $36.43 and a one year high of $65.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $396.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 1.75%. Analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Astec Industries Profile

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.