Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 127,993 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 197,876 shares.The stock last traded at $467.1570 and had previously closed at $467.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 2.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $507.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In other news, CFO John Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 the SEC website. Also, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VMI. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 56,102.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,046,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,535,848,000 after buying an additional 13,023,615 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,141,369,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,009,000 after acquiring an additional 32,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,509,000 after acquiring an additional 12,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth $175,408,000. 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.