Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 23.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,130 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.95% of Astec Industries worth $6,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $72,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 425.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 52.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASTE traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.67. The company had a trading volume of 61,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,167. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74. The firm has a market cap of $858.95 million, a PE ratio of -470.88 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.72. 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 (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31. The company had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. Astec Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently -650.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Astec Industries 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.