Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 25.2%, owning a total of 81,970 shares worth approximately $2.8 million.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Astec Industries from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive growth expectations for the company.
• Astec Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 26.13%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,510 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Astec Industries worth $2,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries by 802.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries by 66.4% during the first 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 period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Astec Industries by 264.6% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 200.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Astec Industries Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of ASTE traded up $2.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.95. 219,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,943. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.04 and a twelve month high of $46.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.28. Astec Industries had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $330.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

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.