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

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $528.61 and last traded at $521.75, with a volume of 13262 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $513.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VMI shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $500.33.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 1.36. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $451.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.04.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 112,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.