Dean Capital Management Sells 61,647 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Dean Capital Management lowered its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 70.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 61,647 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management owned 0.11% of Astec Industries worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 8,994.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 412.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $127,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $182,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $56.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.46. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.43 and a 12-month high of $65.69.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

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.