Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $541.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $573.75.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $532.89 on Friday. Valmont Industries has a 52-week low of $329.21 and a 52-week high of $585.71. The company has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $539.57 and a 200-day moving average of $475.05.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.32 EPS. Valmont Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 22.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 17.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its position in Valmont Industries by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,933,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.