Kennedy Capital Management LLC Acquires 53,058 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 47.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 163,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 53,058 shares during the period. Valmont Industries comprises approximately 1.4% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.83% of Valmont Industries worth $65,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 225.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 67,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,300,000 after acquiring an additional 46,825 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 59,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,676 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 72,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 223.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.25.

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE VMI opened at $546.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.34. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $316.56 and a 52 week high of $548.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $488.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $449.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 17.10%.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.