Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $45.33 and traded as high as $48.85. Astec Industries shares last traded at $48.42, with a volume of 141,621 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASTE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Astec Industries to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Astec Industries Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.44.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 3.50%.The company had revenue of $350.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.00 million.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the second quarter worth about $27,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 8,994.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 412.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.