Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Astec Industries' stock price has recently surpassed its 200-day moving average of $41.27, trading as high as $47.93.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.88, exceeding the consensus estimate, although revenue of $330.30 million fell short of the expected $361.00 million.
• Astec Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13, with an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 26.13%.

Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $41.27 and traded as high as $47.93. Astec Industries shares last traded at $47.76, with a volume of 107,472 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Astec Industries Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.27.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Astec Industries

In other news, insider Barend Snyman sold 2,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $117,955.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,695.98. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 264.6% in the 1st 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, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 412.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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