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

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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 Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $33.85 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $771.78 million, a PE ratio of -423.07 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.44. Astec Industries has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Institutional investors 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.