Reviewing Astec Industries (ASTE) & Its Peers

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) is one of 437 publicly-traded companies in the “Machinery” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Astec Industries to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Astec Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Astec Industries pays out 46.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Machinery” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.4% and pay out 27.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Astec Industries lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Astec Industries and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.41 billion	$38.80 million	46.65
Astec Industries Competitors	$4.44 billion	$345.61 million	-1.26

Astec Industries’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Astec Industries is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries’ peers have a beta of 4.48, meaning that their average share price is 348% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Astec Industries and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0	2	0	2	3.00
Astec Industries Competitors	4040	14409	17793	759	2.41

As a group, “Machinery” companies have a potential upside of 30.31%. Given Astec Industries’ peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Astec Industries has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Astec Industries and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	1.75%	10.09%	5.24%
Astec Industries Competitors	-1,938.53%	-13.31%	0.72%

Summary

Astec Industries peers beat Astec Industries on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About Astec Industries

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. This segment provides its products to asphalt producers; highway and heavy equipment contractors; utility contractors; sand and gravel producers; construction, demolition, recycle and crushing contractors; forestry and environmental recycling contractors; mine and quarry operators; port and inland terminal authorities; power stations; and domestic and foreign government agencies. The Materials Solutions segment designs and manufactures crushing equipment, mobile plants, bulk material handling solutions, vibrating equipment, screening equipment, electrical control centers, modular plants and systems, conveying equipment, plant automation products, portable plants, and mineral processing equipment, as well as offers consulting and engineering services. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.