Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTEGet Free Report)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $49.89, but opened at $47.25. Astec Industries shares last traded at $48.0550, with a volume of 11,314 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASTE. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Read Our Latest Report on ASTE

Astec Industries Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTEGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 46.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Astec Industries news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total value of $59,543.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries by 142.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after buying an additional 203,911 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 48.3% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,113,000 after buying an additional 163,155 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 1,800.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,853,000 after buying an additional 134,896 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,345,000 after acquiring an additional 132,095 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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