Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VMI. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,200,000 after purchasing an additional 6,927 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $528,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 93,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance boosted its position in Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of VMI opened at $322.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $296.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.03. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.83 and a fifty-two week high of $379.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $969.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.04 million. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. Analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $343.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.