Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Astec Industries stock opened at $37.29 on Wednesday. Astec Industries has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $44.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $850.29 million, a P/E ratio of -466.13 and a beta of 1.30.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. Astec Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 69.8% in the third 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. acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. 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.