Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Price Target Raised to $41.00 at Robert W. Baird

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) had its target price increased by Robert W. Baird from $40.00 to $41.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Astec Industries Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $35.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.66. The company has a market cap of $818.66 million, a PE ratio of -448.73 and a beta of 1.31. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 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.