Astec Industries (ASTE) Competitors

Douglas Dynamics (NYSE:PLOW) and Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, valuation and community ranking.

Does the media refer more to PLOW or ASTE?

In the previous week, Douglas Dynamics had 1 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Douglas Dynamics and 35 mentions for Astec Industries. Astec Industries' average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat Douglas Dynamics' score of 0.01 indicating that Douglas Dynamics is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Douglas Dynamics	9 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Astec Industries	4 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in PLOW or ASTE?

91.9% of Douglas Dynamics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Douglas Dynamics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, PLOW or ASTE?

Astec Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Douglas Dynamics. Douglas Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Douglas Dynamics	$568.18M	0.96	$23.72M	$1.17	20.12
Astec Industries	$1.34B	0.55	$33.50M	$1.09	29.71

Which has more volatility and risk, PLOW or ASTE?

Douglas Dynamics has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate PLOW or ASTE?

Douglas Dynamics presently has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.95%. Astec Industries has a consensus price target of $43.50, indicating a potential upside of 34.34%. Given Douglas Dynamics' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Astec Industries is more favorable than Douglas Dynamics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Douglas Dynamics	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer PLOW or ASTE?

Astec Industries received 120 more outperform votes than Douglas Dynamics when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.16% of users gave Astec Industries an outperform vote while only 55.21% of users gave Douglas Dynamics an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Douglas Dynamics	Outperform Votes 281 55.21%	Underperform Votes 228 44.79%
Astec Industries	Outperform Votes 401 64.16%	Underperform Votes 224 35.84%

Is PLOW or ASTE more profitable?

Douglas Dynamics has a net margin of 4.90% compared to Douglas Dynamics' net margin of 1.91%. Astec Industries' return on equity of 12.95% beat Douglas Dynamics' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Douglas Dynamics	4.90%	12.95%	4.82%
Astec Industries	1.91%	7.44%	4.51%

Is PLOW or ASTE a better dividend stock?

Douglas Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Douglas Dynamics pays out 100.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Astec Industries pays out 47.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Douglas Dynamics has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Douglas Dynamics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Douglas Dynamics beats Astec Industries on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.