Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $525.25.

VMI has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Valmont Industries stock opened at $546.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $488.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.15. Valmont Industries has a 52-week low of $316.56 and a 52-week high of $548.90.

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

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 17.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries 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 sale, the director directly owned 112,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

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

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.