Short Interest in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Expands By 17.0%

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 438,900 shares, an increase of 17.0% from the August 15th total of 375,100 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 153,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE stock traded up $0.46 on Monday, reaching $31.77. The company had a trading volume of 118,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,198. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.48 and its 200 day moving average is $35.27. The company has a market cap of $723.24 million, a P/E ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 2.50. Astec Industries has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $50.37.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $345.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.35 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.18% and a positive return on equity of 6.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASTE. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 20,234 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,126 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Astec Industries by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Astec Industries by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,531,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,984,000 after purchasing an additional 29,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in Astec Industries by 112.4% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 12,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 6,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.