Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 425,500 shares, an increase of 12.6% from the October 31st total of 378,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 143,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASTE. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after buying an additional 142,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,465,000 after acquiring an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. Mill Road Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $2,467,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 52,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 41.0% in the second quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,212,000 after buying an additional 51,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ ASTE traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $38.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,736. The firm has a market capitalization of $874.91 million, a P/E ratio of -482.75 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.56.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The business had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is -650.00%.

About Astec Industries

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.