Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $500.3333.

A number of analysts recently commented on VMI shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of VMI stock opened at $506.19 on Friday. Valmont Industries has a fifty-two week low of $305.07 and a fifty-two week high of $528.49. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $442.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $433.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 22.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given 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, June 26th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $739,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,658,000. 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 in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,663,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 283,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,379 shares in 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.