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

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 1.4 %

Valmont Industries stock opened at $285.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $328.57 and its 200-day moving average is $320.57. Valmont Industries has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued 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 return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $67,822,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 57.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 407,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,512,000 after buying an additional 148,811 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 2,077.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 58,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,026,000 after buying an additional 56,079 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,180,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 247,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,825,000 after acquiring an additional 34,772 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.