Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.42% of Astec Industries worth $3,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 15,433 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the first quarter worth $4,419,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Astec Industries by 149.0% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 40,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 24,358 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Astec Industries by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 282,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,728,000 after purchasing an additional 17,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 4.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Astec Industries stock opened at $45.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.04 and a twelve month high of $46.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 1.43.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.28. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 3.50%.The firm had revenue of $330.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

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.