Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Position Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Valmont Industries worth $12,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,769,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 46,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19,096 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 9,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $330.58 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $332.14 and a 200-day moving average of $318.72. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

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.