Two Sigma Advisers LP Invests $619,000 in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $619,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.08% of Astec Industries as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 184.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,108,000 after acquiring an additional 117,858 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,612,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,552,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 101,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,403,000 after buying an additional 44,701 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 691.9% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 48,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 42,682 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASTE traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 94,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,431. The firm has a market cap of $916.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -500.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.03 and a 200-day moving average of $35.68. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $42.79.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 78.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.