Rather & Kittrell Inc. Reduces Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Rather & Kittrell Inc. trimmed its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,208 shares during the period. Rather & Kittrell Inc.’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $424,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,107,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 89,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,876. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.97 and a 12 month high of $56.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $969.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01 and a beta of 1.38.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $337.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.33 million. Astec Industries had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

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.