Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Grows Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 691.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,682 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.21% of Astec Industries worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 381,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

ASTE stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.00. 98,368 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 153,722. The firm has a market capitalization of $960.41 million, a PE ratio of -524.93 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.20. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $42.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ASTE. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Astec Industries 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.