Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $38.20. The company had a trading volume of 157,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 146,990. Astec Industries has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year 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 company has a market capitalization of $871.04 million, a P/E ratio of -477.50 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.83 and a 200-day moving average of $32.84.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. Astec Industries's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Astec Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Company Profile

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.