Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

ASTE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Longbow Research raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $57.56 on Friday. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $37.82 and a 12 month high of $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 51.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced 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 for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Astec Industries will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 15.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after buying an additional 8,847 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $1,526,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 188.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 148,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 96,883 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 2.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 65,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 2.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 46,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Company 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.