Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.32 and last traded at $42.46, with a volume of 113706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Astec Industries Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $980.89 million, a P/E ratio of 64.99 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 2.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.71 and a 200-day moving average of $35.99.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.79%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% during the fourth 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 period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 264.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

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.