Short Interest in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Expands By 34.3%

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 521,600 shares, an increase of 34.3% from the May 31st total of 388,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 161,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Astec Industries

In other news, insider Michael Paul Norris acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.46 per share, for a total transaction of $33,460.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $531,545.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries by 41,600.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the first quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the first quarter worth about $85,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $29.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $675.06 million, a P/E ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.63 and its 200-day moving average is $36.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Astec Industries has a 1-year low of $28.94 and a 1-year high of $56.33.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.47). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 7.44% and a net margin of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $309.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Astec Industries will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd.

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.