Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Astec Industries stake by 2,165% in the second quarter, holding 146,796 shares valued at approximately $9.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.16% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: two analysts rate ASTE a Strong Buy, while others issue Hold and Sell ratings, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus. Zacks Research recently downgraded the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• Astec reported quarterly EPS of $0.94, missing the $1.04 consensus estimate, though revenue of $408.1 million exceeded expectations. The company also declared a $0.13 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.2% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 2,165.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,796 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 140,315 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.64% of Astec Industries worth $8,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,433,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,176,000 after acquiring an additional 22,154 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 818,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,372,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,392,000 after acquiring an additional 75,989 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 431,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,672,000 after acquiring an additional 47,142 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 142.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,042,000 after acquiring an additional 203,911 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASTE. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $42.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $988.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.52, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.36. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.47 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company's 50 day moving average is $53.98 and its 200 day moving average is $54.71.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $405.50 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 61.18%.

About Astec Industries

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.

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