Robert W. Baird Increases Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Price Target to $40.00

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE opened at $37.82 on Thursday. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $862.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -472.69 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.41.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.90 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -649.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 1.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,637,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 7.7% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,247,000 after buying an additional 41,800 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 6.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 236,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,327,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 100.8% during the first quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,165,000 after acquiring an additional 105,280 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 41.0% during the second quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,212,000 after acquiring an additional 51,141 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services.