Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 318,870 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 279% from the previous session’s volume of 84,219 shares.The stock last traded at $31.38 and had previously closed at $31.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $757.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -415.20 and a beta of 1.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.90 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. Astec Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -650.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter worth about $64,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.