Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $35.27, but opened at $40.29. Astec Industries shares last traded at $38.68, with a volume of 22,409 shares traded.

The industrial products company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 73.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 5,689 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 138,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 66.4% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 3,771.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 43,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,080,000 after buying an additional 42,655 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Up 6.7 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $858.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -470.32 and a beta of 1.39.

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.