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

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $587.00.

VMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 4.8%

Valmont Industries stock opened at $457.73 on Thursday. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $353.41 and a one year high of $585.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $536.86 and a 200 day moving average of $479.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.33.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 11.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John L. Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $486.14 per share, with a total value of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,530.88. This represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the first quarter worth about $37,000. 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.