Short Interest in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Declines By 13.2%

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 331,700 shares, a decline of 13.2% from the February 28th total of 382,100 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 180,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth about $319,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth $236,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $754,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $353,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $34.72 on Wednesday. Astec Industries has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.26. The company has a market cap of $791.75 million, a P/E ratio of -433.95 and a beta of 1.32.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $359.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.68%.

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.