Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $522.00 and last traded at $518.9790, with a volume of 205253 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $507.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $500.33.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 2.7%

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 50 day moving average of $435.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.89. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 1.36.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.32 EPS. Valmont Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In related 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 value of $8,615,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 3,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $297,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.