Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $62.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $29.65 and a 12 month high of $64.37.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $400.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.21 million. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astec Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $10,096,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Astec Industries by 142.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,042,000 after purchasing an additional 203,911 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 539,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after purchasing an additional 178,545 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 501,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,113,000 after purchasing an additional 163,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Astec Industries by 1,800.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,853,000 after purchasing an additional 134,896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Astec Industries

Here are the key news stories impacting Astec Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sidoti raised several near‑term EPS forecasts (Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q1–Q3 2027), signaling better expected profitability over the next year. Sidoti raises estimates (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pushing growth via backlog and acquisitions and is targeting $170M–$190M of adjusted EBITDA for 2026, which supports a stronger earnings trajectory if execution continues. Astec targets $170M–$190M adjusted EBITDA (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results/announcements pushed the shares to a new 12‑month high on signs of revenue strength, indicating positive market reaction to the top‑line and guidance aspects of the report. Astec hits new 12‑month high (AmericanBankingNews)
• Neutral Sentiment: Press/summary pieces highlight record sales and strategic growth initiatives from the Q4/2025 release — useful context for longer‑term investors but less decisive for intraday moves. Earnings highlights (Yahoo Finance)
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in the feeds are effectively zero/invalid (data shows 0 shares and NaN changes), so they provide no clear directional signal for share pressure or squeeze risk.
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings call transcript contains language that the company “missed on earnings expectations” in at least one reported metric (GAAP EPS cited lower in the transcript), which can create mixed investor interpretation and short‑term selling pressure. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript (InsiderMonkey)

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.