Contrasting Astec Industries (ASTE) & The Competition

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) is one of 437 public companies in the “Machinery” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Astec Industries to related businesses based on the strength of its valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Dividends

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Astec Industries pays out 61.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Machinery” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.3% and pay out 27.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Astec Industries lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Astec Industries and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	1	1	0	2	2.75
Astec Industries Competitors	4050	14437	17845	767	2.41

As a group, “Machinery” companies have a potential upside of 24.16%. Given Astec Industries’ competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Astec Industries has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Astec Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.8% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Astec Industries and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	1.26%	10.26%	5.01%
Astec Industries Competitors	-1,937.72%	-13.26%	0.73%

Volatility and Risk

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries’ competitors have a beta of 4.48, meaning that their average share price is 348% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Astec Industries and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.56 billion	$38.80 million	52.06
Astec Industries Competitors	$4.55 billion	$345.47 million	0.28

Astec Industries’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Astec Industries is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Astec Industries competitors beat Astec Industries on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Astec Industries Company 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. This segment provides its products to asphalt producers; highway and heavy equipment contractors; utility contractors; sand and gravel producers; construction, demolition, recycle and crushing contractors; forestry and environmental recycling contractors; mine and quarry operators; port and inland terminal authorities; power stations; and domestic and foreign government agencies. The Materials Solutions segment designs and manufactures crushing equipment, mobile plants, bulk material handling solutions, vibrating equipment, screening equipment, electrical control centers, modular plants and systems, conveying equipment, plant automation products, portable plants, and mineral processing equipment, as well as offers consulting and engineering services. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.