Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,598,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 152,870 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 7.01% of Astec Industries worth $51,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASTE. SG Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,165,000 after purchasing an additional 105,280 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 96.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,465,000 after buying an additional 84,202 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 251.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,217,000 after buying an additional 68,991 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,212,000 after buying an additional 51,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,800 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Trading Down 0.6 %

Astec Industries stock opened at $37.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.39. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74. The stock has a market cap of $849.98 million, a PE ratio of -464.07 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -649.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.