Valmont Industries, Inc. (VMI) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $587.00.

VMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:VMI opened at $453.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.34. Valmont Industries has a twelve month low of $378.02 and a twelve month high of $585.71.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries will post 23.03 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John Schwietz bought 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $486.14 per share, with a total value of $101,117.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $175,408,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,723,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $75,308,000. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth $37,717,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered products and services serving the infrastructure and agricultural markets. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates through businesses focused on infrastructure, coatings, and water management.

Its infrastructure products include utility and transmission structures, lighting and traffic poles, highway and transportation structures, and related support systems. Valmont also provides hot-dip galvanizing and other protective coatings designed to extend the service life of steel products used in industrial, infrastructure, and commercial applications.

In agriculture, the company manufactures mechanized irrigation equipment, including center-pivot and linear irrigation systems, as well as agricultural products and services intended to support water conservation and crop production.