Dean Capital Management Buys 28,734 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Dean Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 188.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,734 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management owned approximately 0.19% of Astec Industries worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 38.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 15,736 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 319.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 12,217 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 118.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 22,017 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Astec Industries by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 9,042 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 27,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 18,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE traded up $0.33 on Friday, reaching $39.56. 138,946 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,335. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $904.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -494.44 and a beta of 1.40. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $42.70.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 78.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on ASTE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries 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.