Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 525,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,578 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.66% of Valmont Industries worth $171,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.6% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 87.7% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc increased its position in Valmont Industries by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 4.0% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Valmont Industries from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Valmont Industries in a report on Friday, September 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $480.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valmont Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $448.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Christopher Colwell sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.68, for a total transaction of $154,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,992,214.48. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE VMI opened at $393.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $397.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $362.39. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $250.07 and a one year high of $427.81.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Valmont Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at 18.700-19.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.43%.

Valmont Industries Profile

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.