UBS Group AG Acquires 26,588 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 47% in the fourth quarter, buying 26,588 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 83,185 shares worth about $3.6 million.
• Astec reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $0.54 missing expectations of $0.88, while revenue of $396.3 million slightly beat estimates. Analysts still expect full-year EPS of 3.63.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable May 29, for an annualized yield of about 1.1%; meanwhile, analyst sentiment remains moderate with an average “Buy” rating despite recent rating downgrades.

UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,588 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.36% of Astec Industries worth $3,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 67,387 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 19,871 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 190.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 9,332 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $10,096,000. Harvey Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,113,000 after acquiring an additional 163,155 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,513,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $120,976,000 after acquiring an additional 34,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $48.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $65.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $54.92 and its 200 day moving average is $51.42.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 10.09%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 46.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASTE. Zacks Research downgraded Astec Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Astec Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astec Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Longbow Research upgraded Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astec Industries currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Astec Industries news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of Astec Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total value of $59,543.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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