Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys New Shares in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 67,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 19,871 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 190.4% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 9,332 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,513,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $120,976,000 after acquiring an additional 34,535 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,096,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Astec Industries by 24.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,345,000 after purchasing an additional 132,095 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Terrell Gilbert, Jr. sold 975 shares of Astec Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $59,543.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $539,125.96. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Longbow Research raised Astec Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Astec Industries currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $55.06 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.51. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.49. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $29.65 and a one year high of $64.37.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 30.95%.

Astec Industries 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.