6,841 Shares in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

ASTE stock opened at $34.32 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $782.56 million, a P/E ratio of -428.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $44.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.97.

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

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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