StockNews.com Upgrades Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) to “Buy”

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of ASTE opened at $38.07 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.39. Astec Industries has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $44.74. The stock has a market cap of $868.00 million, a PE ratio of -476.82 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 69.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $116,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 425.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.