Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 378,000 shares, a decline of 10.1% from the October 15th total of 420,400 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 147,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the first quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $69,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Astec Industries stock opened at $36.61 on Tuesday. Astec Industries has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The company has a market cap of $834.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -458.94 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.44 and its 200 day moving average is $32.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently -649.92%.

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.