GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 3,771.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 42,655 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.19% of Astec Industries worth $15,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASTE. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Astec Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 60,376 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,029,000 after buying an additional 15,111 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 31,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.3%

ASTE stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.53. 100,282 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 153,611. The stock has a market cap of $926.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -506.56 and a beta of 1.40. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $42.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $37.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $329.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.79%.

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.