Walleye Capital LLC Takes Position in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC disclosed a new position in Astec Industries, buying 55,282 shares worth about $2.98 million and owning roughly 0.24% of the company.
• Astec Industries remains heavily institutionally owned, with 93.16% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, and several other funds also recently adjusted their positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the stock has a consensus Buy rating, even though recent reports included both upgrades to Hold and a downgrade from Buy to Hold.

Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 55,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,976,000. Walleye Capital LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Astec Industries as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 8,994.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 412.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $127,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $182,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Astec Industries from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astec Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Astec Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of ASTE opened at $56.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.34. 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 $37.88 and a 1-year high of $65.69.

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

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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