Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Astec Industries by 0.9% during the first quarter, now holding about 5.52% of the company, valued at approximately $43.5 million.
• The stock received a rating upgrade from buy to strong-buy from Wall Street Zen, while the consensus rating remains at Hold with an average target price of $41.00.
• Astec Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.52 and a yield of 1.1%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,262,510 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,447 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 5.52% of Astec Industries worth $43,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Astec Industries by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,693 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Astec Industries stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.29. 290,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,438. The business's 50-day moving average is $41.88 and its 200-day moving average is $38.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.04 and a 12-month high of $47.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.43.

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

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 is Monday, August 11th. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Astec Industries Company 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.