Harvey Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Harvey Partners LLC increased its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 101.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,000 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC owned approximately 1.24% of Astec Industries worth $9,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 64.3% during the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after acquiring an additional 52,571 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,212,000 after purchasing an additional 51,141 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 7.7% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,800 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Astec Industries by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 73,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 30,717 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Astec Industries Stock Up 1.1 %

ASTE stock opened at $39.05 on Tuesday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $890.42 million, a P/E ratio of -488.13 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.60.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. 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.