The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,637,000 after purchasing an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,800 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 236,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,327,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,165,000 after purchasing an additional 105,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,212,000 after purchasing an additional 51,141 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $32.22 on Friday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.63.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.11). Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 0.18%. The business had revenue of $345.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

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.