Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE Shares Sold by Dean Capital Management

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management reduced its Astec Industries stake by 73.7% in the first quarter, selling 18,611 shares and retaining 6,655 shares valued at approximately $358,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.16% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with Astec carrying a consensus “Buy” rating from MarketBeat, despite mixed actions including upgrades to “Strong Buy” and downgrades to “Hold.”
• Astec shares opened at $56.40, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share fell short of the $0.88 consensus estimate; revenue of $396.3 million slightly exceeded expectations.

Dean Capital Management cut its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 73.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,611 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management's holdings in Astec Industries were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 8,994.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Astec Industries by 412.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $127,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $182,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of several research reports. Freedom Capital raised Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research raised Astec Industries from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Astec Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Astec Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $56.40 on Monday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.88 and a 1 year high of $65.69. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.65.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. As a group, analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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