John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,718 shares during the quarter. Astec Industries makes up about 1.0% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned 0.82% of Astec Industries worth $6,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Astec Industries by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 381,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Astec Industries by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,693 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Astec Industries Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Astec Industries stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $40.02. 99,169 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 169,890. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $29.04 and a one year high of $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.68. The company has a market capitalization of $915.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.64 and a beta of 1.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS.

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.