Zacks Research Upgrades Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “buy,” based on two strong-buy and two hold ratings.
• Astec reported quarterly EPS of $0.94, missing the $1.04 consensus estimate, though revenue of $408.1 million exceeded expectations of $405.5 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the stock; shares opened at $41.26, near the company’s 12-month low of $39.38 and well below its high of $65.69.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy".

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $41.26 on Monday. Astec Industries has a 12-month low of $39.38 and a 12-month high of $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $949.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.83.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%.The business had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Astec Industries will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $212,732,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $6,075,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $2,997,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the second quarter worth $2,315,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the first quarter valued at $2,976,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc NASDAQ: ASTE designs, engineers, manufactures and services equipment used in the construction of infrastructure and the processing of aggregates. Its products support road building, asphalt production, concrete production, aggregate processing and related industrial applications.

The company's product portfolio includes asphalt plants and related equipment, concrete plants, crushers, screens, feeders, material-handling systems, thermal-processing equipment and road-building machinery.

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