Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on VMI. Zacks Research lowered Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:VMI opened at $419.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $457.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $476.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Valmont Industries has a 1 year low of $378.02 and a 1 year high of $585.71.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $6.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.54. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Valmont Industries will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 11.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VMI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at $175,408,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 43.6% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 343,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,044,000 after purchasing an additional 104,259 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.6% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 198,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,971,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $83,723,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries designs and manufactures products used in infrastructure and agriculture. Founded in 1946, the company has grown from a maker of steel irrigation equipment into a global provider of engineered products and services.

Its infrastructure business supplies utility structures, poles and towers, lighting and traffic products, telecommunications structures, and protective coatings. These products support electric power, transportation, communications, and other infrastructure markets.

Valmont’s agriculture business focuses on mechanized irrigation systems, including center-pivot and linear-move equipment, along with related technology and services.