Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Acquired by Dean Capital Management

Dean Capital Management raised its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 188.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,734 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management owned 0.19% of Astec Industries worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 802.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Trading Up 5.4%

NASDAQ:ASTE traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,877. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $42.70. The stock has a market cap of $953.10 million, a P/E ratio of -520.96 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.79%.

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.