VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $4.10 Million Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,101,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $22,958,000. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at $13,180,000. Leuthold Group LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 983.7% in the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 11,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. Congruence Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,011,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

VMI opened at $481.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $500.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $361.50 and a 1 year high of $585.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

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.