JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 79.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,701 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.44% of Astec Industries worth $3,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 10,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 1,631 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $32.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $750.02 million, a PE ratio of -411.07 and a beta of 1.39. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $359.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

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.