Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 99,287 Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 99,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,075,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 83,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,604,000 after purchasing an additional 26,588 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 192,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,319,000 after purchasing an additional 102,709 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the first quarter worth about $2,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 2,165.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 146,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,982,000 after purchasing an additional 140,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $44.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.36. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.47 and a 52 week high of $65.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.87 and a 200 day moving average of $54.05.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $408.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.50 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 10.26%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 61.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ASTE. Wall Street Zen cut Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research cut Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate 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.