Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases Shares of 8,700 Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 225.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 67,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,300,000 after acquiring an additional 46,825 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 59,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,873,000 after purchasing an additional 4,676 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 72,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 223.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VMI shares. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of Valmont Industries 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 sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,475. This trade represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John L. Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $486.14 per share, with a total value of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of VMI opened at $477.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.35. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $353.41 and a 52 week high of $585.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $536.27 and a 200-day moving average of $480.25.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%.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 company posted $4.88 EPS. Valmont Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

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

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.