Van ECK Associates Corp Has $10.59 Million Stock Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $10,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,958,000. Congruence Capital LLC acquired a new position in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth $15,011,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC grew its position in Valmont Industries by 983.7% in the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 11,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at $13,180,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 lowered Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

NYSE VMI opened at $466.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $511.57 and a 200-day moving average of $486.28. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $360.41 and a 52-week high of $585.71.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John L. Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.42% 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.