Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Bought by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned about 0.61% of Astec Industries worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,573 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,715,000 after buying an additional 3,082 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,169,000 after acquiring an additional 9,635 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 123.8% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 245,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,261,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of ASTE traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.60. 106,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,156. The company has a market cap of $974.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.55 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 2.66. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $43.35. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.08.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.15%. The company's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a 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.