Astec Industries, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Key Points

• Astec Industries declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable May 29 to shareholders of record on May 13, equivalent to an annualized $0.52 and a yield of about 0.9%.
• The company beat Q4 expectations with $1.06 EPS (vs. $0.74 est.) and $400.6M revenue; its dividend is well covered with a payout ratio of 16.3% and analysts forecast $4.33 EPS next year (implying a ~12% payout ratio).
• Shares traded down 0.9% to $58.68 (market cap ~$1.34B, P/E ~34.9), and analyst sentiment is positive overall with three "Strong Buy" ratings and one Hold, giving an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, May 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th.

Astec Industries has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Astec Industries has a payout ratio of 16.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Astec Industries to earn $4.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.0%.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ASTE traded down $0.54 on Monday, reaching $58.68. The stock had a trading volume of 148,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,914. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.66. Astec Industries has a 12-month low of $34.78 and a 12-month high of $64.37.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.32. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.75%.The company had revenue of $400.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.21 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Astec Industries will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Longbow Research raised Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research raised Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec's product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.

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