Astec Industries Inc (NASDAQ:ASTE) Identified by High Growth Momentum and Trend Template Screen

Astec Industries Inc (NASDAQ:ASTE) has been identified by a specific stock screen built to find companies that fit a strict growth and momentum investment plan. This method uses two established systems: Mark Minervini’s Trend Template for chart strength and a High Growth Momentum (HGM) score for fundamental improvement. The aim is to locate firms not just in a notable price advance but also showing the earnings and sales progress that has supported continued, high-level performance. By selecting for stocks that satisfy both groups of conditions, the screen tries to find possible top performers early in their periods of expansion.

A Firm Technical Base: The Trend Template

Mark Minervini’s Trend Template is a strict set of technical requirements that finds stocks in a verified, notable upward trend, or what Minervini calls "Stage 2." The idea is clear: trade alongside the strongest price movement. For ASTE, the present chart shows a notable fit with these rules.

• Price Above Important Moving Averages: The stock’s last price of $48.80 is positioned well above its rising 50-day ($45.16), 150-day ($44.46), and 200-day ($42.67) simple moving averages. This ordered position shows continued demand across short, medium, and long-term periods.
• Moving Average Order: The 50-day SMA is higher than both the 150-day and 200-day SMAs, and the 150-day is also higher than the 200-day. This "bullish order" confirms the upward trend’s condition and increasing speed.
• Nearness to Highs: At $48.80, ASTE is trading within 4% of its 52-week high of $50.83 and is a notable 65% above its 52-week low of $29.65. Minervini’s plan concentrates on strength, preferring stocks close to new highs that have already shown major improvement and performance.
• Better Relative Strength: With a ChartMill Relative Strength (CRS) score of 85.02, ASTE is doing better than 85% of the market. High relative strength is a key part of the strategy, as it points to institutional buying and market performance.

This technical view indicates ASTE is in a clear, institutionally-supported upward trend, satisfying the exact requirements the Trend Template uses to remove weaker, consolidating, or falling stocks.

The Support for the Trend: High Growth Momentum

A firm chart is only one piece. For a trend to have staying power and notable potential, it usually needs the support of fundamental improvement. The High Growth Momentum score looks at recent patterns in earnings and sales to find companies where business progress is turning notably positive.

ASTE’s recent financial numbers show several areas of improvement that support its inclusion:

• Earnings Per Share (EPS) Increase: The latest quarterly EPS expanded 51.6% year-over-year. More notable is the improvement seen in earlier quarters, with growth of 44.3% and 158.8% in the two quarters before that. This sequence of firm, and in some times major, profit expansion is precisely what momentum investors look for.
• Steady Earnings Surprises: The company has exceeded analyst EPS forecasts in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 56%. This steady overachievement often results in higher future forecasts and greater investor trust.
• Firm Revenue Growth: Sales growth is also present, with recent quarterly revenue rising 20.1% year-over-year. While sales growth in earlier quarters was more moderate, the recent improvement is a good signal.
• Recovering Profitability: After a decline, the company’s annual profit margin shows signals of a major recovery path. More significantly, free cash flow per share has grown greatly, expanding 161% over the past year, pointing to firm cash creation and financial condition.

This mix of improving earnings, steady beats, and firm cash flow growth gives a fundamental reason for the stock’s technical strength, suggesting the price trend is backed by real business gains.

Technical Condition and Position Evaluation

Beyond the particular Trend Template filters, a wider view of ASTE’s technical condition is positive. ChartMill’s own Technical Rating gives the stock a full score of 10 out of 10, showing notable strength across many time periods and measures. Both the short-term and long-term trends are scored as good, and the stock is performing well in its industry.

The technical report mentions an important resistance area near $49.47, which the stock is now nearing. While the overall technical rating is very good, the present Position Quality score is a 7. The evaluation indicates that while the trend is strong, recent price action has been somewhat unstable, making the best, lower-risk entry moment less defined than in a steady consolidation. For investors following a strict Minervini-style plan, this could call for waiting for a more distinct volatility reduction pattern to form, giving a clearer point for entry.

You can examine the complete, detailed technical evaluation for ASTE here: ChartMill Technical Report for ASTE.

Locating Comparable Prospects

Astec Industries offers an example of a stock that fits a strict growth and momentum approach, meeting conditions for both technical trend strength and fundamental business improvement. For investors curious about finding other firms that pass this two-part screen, you can inspect the present results using this link: View the High Growth Momentum + Trend Template Screen.

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Disclaimer: This article is for information and learning only. It is not advice to buy or sell any security. The evaluation uses given data and certain investment systems, but past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Always do your own research, think about your financial position and risk comfort, and talk to a qualified financial advisor before making any investment choices.