Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Update

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 404,200 shares, a decrease of 10.1% from the April 30th total of 449,600 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 164,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Astec Industries stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.49. 152,098 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,222. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.63 and its 200-day moving average is $36.82. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $28.97 and a 12 month high of $56.33. The stock has a market cap of $739.47 million, a P/E ratio of 29.81 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.47). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $309.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Astec Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Astec Industries will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASTE. StockNews.com lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Paul Norris purchased 1,000 shares of Astec Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.46 per share, for a total transaction of $33,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,545.56. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 144,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,845 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 15.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after buying an additional 7,127 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.