Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 46.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,037 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 142.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,042,000 after purchasing an additional 203,911 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,113,000 after buying an additional 163,155 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 184.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after buying an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Astec Industries by 29.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,629,000 after buying an additional 113,765 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $56.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.82 and a 1-year high of $65.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $396.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $393.24 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 1.75%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Longbow Research raised shares of Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astec Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.