New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 46.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,037 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Astec Industries worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASTE. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 1st quarter worth $544,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 1st quarter worth $219,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 1st quarter worth $349,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Astec Industries by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,392,000 after purchasing an additional 75,989 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ASTE shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research raised Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Longbow Research raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $56.62 on Monday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.82 and a 52 week high of $65.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.89. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.