Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Up 17.6% in November

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 500,300 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the November 15th total of 425,500 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of ASTE opened at $37.10 on Monday. Astec Industries has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $845.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -463.75 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.09 and a 200-day moving average of $32.91.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -650.00%.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $69,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ASTE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.