Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Raised to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Astec Industries has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, with a consensus target price of $41.00.
• The company reported earnings of $0.88 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.28, although revenue fell short at $330.30 million.
• Insider Barend Snyman sold 2,498 shares at an average price of $47.22, decreasing their ownership stake by 13.83%.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Astec Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $48.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The company's fifty day moving average is $45.83 and its 200 day moving average is $40.85. Astec Industries has a 52 week low of $29.65 and a 52 week high of $50.83.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.00 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Barend Snyman sold 2,498 shares of Astec Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total value of $117,955.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,559 shares in the company, valued at $734,695.98. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Astec Industries by 7.7% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 5.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 264.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Astec Industries by 98.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 361,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,450,000 after buying an additional 179,618 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Astec Industries

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.

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