Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 3,582 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,582 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $6,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VMI. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,158,000. Covea Finance raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $466,000. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 44.6% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 18,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,454,000 after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Valmont Industries by 69.9% during the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 7,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,113,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $330.58 on Thursday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $332.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 15.83%.

Valmont Industries Profile

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.