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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

VMI has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Valmont Industries stock opened at $493.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Valmont Industries has a 1-year low of $360.41 and a 1-year high of $585.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $532.25 and its 200 day moving average is $483.01.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 23.08 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In related news, CFO John L. Schwietz bought 208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $486.14 per share, with a total value of $101,117.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter valued at about $1,141,369,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,799,000. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,723,000. 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.