Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Astec Industries' stock reached a new 52-week high of $48.01, reflecting a 3.1% increase in value.
• The company reported earnings of $0.88 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $0.60, despite revenue of $330.30 million falling short of analyst forecasts.
• Astec Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%, and its dividend payout ratio stands at 26.13%.

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $48.01 and last traded at $47.96, with a volume of 59255 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.41.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.39. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.57 and its 200-day moving average is $39.78.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.28. Astec Industries had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $330.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Astec Industries news, insider Barend Snyman sold 2,498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $117,955.56. Following the transaction, 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 10,096 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 19,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,959 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 200.9% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 31,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently 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.