Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) shares hit a new 52-week high of $43.76 following a strong earnings report, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.60.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13, reflecting an annual yield of 1.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 78.79%.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Astec Industries from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the stock's future performance.

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $43.76 and last traded at $38.09, with a volume of 24891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.39.

The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.28. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $330.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $988.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.25.

Astec Industries Company 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.