Caxton Associates LP Buys Shares of 5,727 Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $424,000. SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,884,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 190.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 65,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,880,000 after buying an additional 43,211 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 251.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,217,000 after buying an additional 68,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,531,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,984,000 after acquiring an additional 29,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.51. The stock had a trading volume of 17,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,048. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $785.45 million, a PE ratio of 31.85 and a beta of 1.30. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $56.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.96.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $309.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.27 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 7.44% and a net margin of 1.91%. Astec Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael Paul Norris bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.46 per share, for a total transaction of $33,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $531,545.56. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.