Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

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

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $38.28 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $872.78 million, a PE ratio of -486.06 and a beta of 1.26. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.46.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the first quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.