Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $497.00 to $541.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Valmont Industries traded as high as $490.56 and last traded at $487.9850, with a volume of 120499 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $466.75.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VMI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $500.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMI. Robert B. Daugherty Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $100,580,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,799,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 882.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 98,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,829,000 after buying an additional 88,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $428.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.25.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This is an increase from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 17.10%.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.