Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Trading Up 5.6% – Should You Buy?

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) shares shot up 5.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $572.69 and last traded at $571.00. 147,958 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 192,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $540.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.25.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $491.13 and a 200-day moving average of $451.08.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $994.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 112,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,294,213.06. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 61.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $440,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 23,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,439,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 125,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,309,000 after acquiring an additional 30,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $276,000. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.