Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on VMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 0.1%

VMI stock opened at $468.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $479.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.30. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $378.02 and a 12 month high of $585.71. The company has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth about $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $175,408,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,933,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,723,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,308,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered products and services that support infrastructure, agriculture and industrial applications. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company serves customers in North America and international markets.

Its infrastructure businesses produce utility poles and structures, towers, steel and aluminum structures, lighting and traffic-support systems, and other products used in electrical transmission and distribution, telecommunications, transportation and commercial development.