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

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $587.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John L. Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 56,102.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,046,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,535,848,000 after acquiring an additional 13,023,615 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth about $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth about $175,408,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $99,799,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after purchasing an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

NYSE:VMI opened at $476.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.35. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $360.41 and a 12 month high of $585.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $515.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries will post 23.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

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

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.