Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Technical breakout: Astec's shares crossed above its 200-day moving average of $50.37, trading as high as $60.39 and last at $58.66 on volume of 141,190 shares.
• Analyst upgrades: Multiple firms recently upgraded the stock to "Strong Buy", leaving the consensus rating on MarketBeat as Strong Buy (three Strong Buy ratings, one Hold).
• Earnings and fundamentals: Q2 EPS of $1.06 beat estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $400.6M beat expectations, while the company has a $1.34B market cap, a PE of 34.92, and a quarterly dividend yielding about 0.9%.

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $50.37 and traded as high as $60.39. Astec Industries shares last traded at $58.66, with a volume of 141,190 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Astec Industries Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.37. 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 (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $400.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $374.21 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.75%. Equities analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 30.95%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $59,543.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.99% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $15,042,000 after purchasing an additional 203,911 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $24,113,000 after purchasing an additional 163,155 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position 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 valued at $6,853,000 after purchasing an additional 134,896 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $32,345,000 after purchasing an additional 132,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.