Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $579.99 and last traded at $579.8560, with a volume of 57917 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $570.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $541.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $573.75.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $503.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.50.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.10%.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 112,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VMI. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 225.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 67,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,300,000 after purchasing an additional 46,825 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 59,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,676 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 1st quarter worth $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Valmont Industries by 3.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 72,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 223.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

About Valmont Industries

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.