Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Price Target Raised to $425.00

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $387.00 to $425.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, DA Davidson downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE VMI opened at $349.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $202.01 and a 12 month high of $379.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $324.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.21.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 18.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total transaction of $6,978,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 131,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,963,231.60. The trade was a 13.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,158,000. Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,661,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $466,000. De Lisle Partners LLP grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 18,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,454,000 after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 208,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,497,000 after buying an additional 23,765 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.