Wall Street Zen Upgrades Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) to “Strong-Buy”

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research raised Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $541.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $573.75.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

VMI stock opened at $532.89 on Friday. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $329.21 and a one year high of $585.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $539.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,336,000 after purchasing an additional 10,518 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth $1,749,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth $581,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Valmont Industries by 6,762.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,562,000 after buying an additional 8,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

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.