Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 382,100 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the February 13th total of 446,800 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 172,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ASTE shares. StockNews.com raised Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $36.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.96. The company has a market cap of $837.59 million, a PE ratio of -459.07 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Astec Industries has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.46. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The company had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.10 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 273.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Astec Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,158,000 after buying an additional 3,963 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 60,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 15,111 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 31,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.