Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Holdings Lifted by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.81% of Astec Industries worth $6,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 875,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,952,000 after acquiring an additional 26,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 4.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 245,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,261,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,169,000 after buying an additional 9,635 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $35.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.15. Astec Industries, Inc. 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 current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $798.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -437.82 and a beta of 1.32.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 273.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Profile

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.