Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Insider Sells $59,543.25 in Stock

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total value of $59,543.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Astec Industries Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of ASTE traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.41. 44,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,012. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.65 and a 52-week high of $64.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.49.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.32. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm had revenue of $400.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.21 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,392,000 after purchasing an additional 75,989 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 21,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 7,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $351,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in Astec Industries by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 93,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 37,246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASTE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.