Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Short Interest Up 6.3% in October

Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 420,400 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the September 30th total of 395,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 140,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Astec Industries Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $32.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Astec Industries has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $44.74. The stock has a market cap of $738.52 million, a P/E ratio of -323.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.87.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $345.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.35 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 0.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -520.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astec Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the first quarter valued at about $66,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the first quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the first quarter worth about $116,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.