John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Raises Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 64.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,571 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $4,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the first quarter worth about $66,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 425.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $35.99 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.35. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -649.92%.

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.