Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VMI. Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $438.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $463.15 and a 200 day moving average of $477.25. The company has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $378.02 and a 12 month high of $585.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $6.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 12.05%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 23.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 24th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Valmont Industries by 179.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 98.8% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered products and services serving the infrastructure and agricultural markets. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates through businesses focused on infrastructure, coatings, and water management.

Its infrastructure products include utility and transmission structures, lighting and traffic poles, highway and transportation structures, and related support systems. Valmont also provides hot-dip galvanizing and other protective coatings designed to extend the service life of steel products used in industrial, infrastructure, and commercial applications.

In agriculture, the company manufactures mechanized irrigation equipment, including center-pivot and linear irrigation systems, as well as agricultural products and services intended to support water conservation and crop production.