Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Down 14.5% in February

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 382,100 shares, a decline of 14.5% from the February 13th total of 446,800 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 172,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ASTE shares. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Harvey Partners LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 101.4% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after purchasing an additional 142,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 184.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,108,000 after purchasing an additional 117,858 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,612,000. Mill Road Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,467,000. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 52,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.1 %

ASTE opened at $36.24 on Wednesday. Astec Industries has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.12 and its 200-day moving average is $33.92. The company has a market capitalization of $826.42 million, a PE ratio of -452.94 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 273.68%.

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.