Short Interest in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Grows By 46.7%

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 442,300 shares, an increase of 46.7% from the February 13th total of 301,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 130,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI traded up $8.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $327.63. The stock had a trading volume of 108,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,311. Valmont Industries has a 52 week low of $202.01 and a 52 week high of $379.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.07.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This is an increase from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth $4,158,000. Covea Finance boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth $466,000. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 44.6% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 18,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,454,000 after buying an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 12.9% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 208,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,497,000 after buying an additional 23,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

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.