Verition Fund Management LLC Buys Shares of 7,378 Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Astec Industries by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Astec Industries by 52.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Astec Industries by 12.8% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 22,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $37.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $845.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -463.75 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.09 and its 200-day moving average is $32.91. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently -650.00%.

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.