Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $40.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.87% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Astec Industries Trading Up 15.5 %

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $36.01 on Thursday. Astec Industries has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74. The stock has a market cap of $821.01 million, a P/E ratio of -450.02 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.66. 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 (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The firm had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.10 million.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. Harvey Partners LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 101.4% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after purchasing an additional 142,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 184.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,108,000 after acquiring an additional 117,858 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter worth $3,612,000. Mill Road Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $2,467,000. Finally, 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 worth $4,290,000 after acquiring an additional 52,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.