Heartland Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors acquired 241,590 shares of Astec Industries in the second quarter, worth approximately $14.8 million and representing a 1.05% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.16% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: recent actions included downgrades to “hold” and “strong sell,” though the overall consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy.”
• Astec reported quarterly earnings of $0.94 per share, below the $1.04 consensus estimate, while revenue of $408.1 million exceeded expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 241,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $14,783,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 1.05% of Astec Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASTE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $212,732,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 1.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,433,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,176,000 after acquiring an additional 22,154 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 1.1% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 818,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,372,000 after purchasing an additional 9,174 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 586,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,392,000 after purchasing an additional 75,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 431,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,672,000 after purchasing an additional 47,142 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Astec Industries Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $43.55 on Friday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.47 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $52.64 and its 200 day moving average is $54.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 51.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.36.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 1.26%.The business had revenue of $408.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is 61.18%.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec's product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.

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