Capital Allocation Trends At Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) Aren't Ideal

Simply Wall St
·2 min read

What financial metrics can indicate to us that a company is maturing or even in decline? Typically, we'll see the trend of both return on capital employed (ROCE) declining and this usually coincides with a decreasing amount of capital employed. Basically the company is earning less on its investments and it is also reducing its total assets. And from a first read, things don't look too good at Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE), so let's see why.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Astec Industries is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.058 = US$40m ÷ (US$902m - US$208m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Therefore, Astec Industries has an ROCE of 5.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Machinery industry average of 9.5%.

View our latest analysis for Astec Industries

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Above you can see how the current ROCE for Astec Industries compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Astec Industries here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Astec Industries' historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, the ROCE was 9.9% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Astec Industries to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line On Astec Industries' ROCE

In summary, it's unfortunate that Astec Industries is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. And long term shareholders have watched their investments stay flat over the last five years. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

If you're still interested in Astec Industries it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

While Astec Industries isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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