Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on VMI. DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

NYSE:VMI opened at $349.17 on Wednesday. Valmont Industries has a 52 week low of $202.01 and a 52 week high of $379.22. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $324.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 18.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total transaction of $6,978,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 131,730 shares in the company, valued at $45,963,231.60. This trade represents a 13.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,158,000. Covea Finance raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $466,000. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 18,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 208,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,497,000 after acquiring an additional 23,765 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.