Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Stock Moved Up to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. 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 raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

VMI stock opened at $435.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41. Valmont Industries has a 52-week low of $378.02 and a 52-week high of $585.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.00.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $6.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.54. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 12.05%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.98 earnings per share. Valmont Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Valmont Industries will post 23.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 11.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,822,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 82.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 1,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 1,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.