Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.99 and last traded at $41.5940, with a volume of 528493 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ASTE. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.13. The firm has a market cap of $939.42 million, a PE ratio of 48.45, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.10). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The business had revenue of $408.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $405.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.18%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the second quarter worth about $212,732,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,783,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,538,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 2,165.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 146,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,982,000 after purchasing an additional 140,315 shares during the period. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 192,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after purchasing an additional 102,709 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers and manufactures equipment used in the infrastructure, aggregate processing, mining and energy industries. Its products support the production and handling of asphalt, concrete and other construction materials, as well as road building, recycling and related industrial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes asphalt production plants, concrete plants, rock crushers, screens, feeders, material-handling systems, thermal-processing equipment and industrial heaters.