Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" in a research note issued on Monday.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—two firms rate ASTE "Strong Buy" and two rate it "Hold", with MarketBeat reporting an overall average rating of "Buy".
• Shares opened at $60.65 and were trading up about 3.2%; Astec has a $1.39B market cap, a P/E of 36.1, and recently beat quarterly estimates with $1.06 EPS (vs. $0.74 expected) and $400.6M in revenue.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Astec Industries Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $60.65 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astec Industries has a fifty-two week low of $35.54 and a fifty-two week high of $64.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $57.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.86.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $400.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $374.21 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 11.35%. On average, analysts anticipate that Astec Industries will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Astec Industries news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $59,543.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,828 shares in the company, valued at $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,042,000 after acquiring an additional 203,911 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,113,000 after acquiring an additional 163,155 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1,800.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,853,000 after acquiring an additional 134,896 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,345,000 after acquiring an additional 132,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

About Astec Industries

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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