KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 9,200 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 242.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.06% of Astec Industries worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 138,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 5,689 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 264.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 186,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 23,718 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Astec Industries to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Astec Industries Trading Down 3.3%

ASTE opened at $46.19 on Friday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.65 and a fifty-two week high of $50.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $330.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.00 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 11.52%.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Barend Snyman sold 2,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $117,955.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,559 shares in the company, valued at $734,695.98. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.