Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Downgraded to “Hold” at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $37.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $47.00.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Astec Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE traded down $0.78 on Thursday, reaching $32.38. 459,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 161,951. Astec Industries has a 52 week low of $28.97 and a 52 week high of $56.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.32 million, a P/E ratio of 29.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.47). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 7.44% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $309.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Astec Industries’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astec Industries will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Astec Industries by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 9,039 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 124,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,446,000 after acquiring an additional 11,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 190.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 65,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,880,000 after acquiring an additional 43,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 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.