Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Update

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 500,300 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the November 15th total of 425,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTE traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 69,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 146,455. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.90. The stock has a market cap of $845.95 million, a PE ratio of -463.75 and a beta of 1.30. Astec Industries has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 118.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 22,017 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 4.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,180,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Astec Industries by 78.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 20,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 9,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

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.