Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 12.5 %

Shares of VMI opened at $285.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.98. Valmont Industries has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $332.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $318.77.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $345,000. Castleark Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 21,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,658,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 69,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,428,000 after acquiring an additional 9,516 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 141.2% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,744,000 after acquiring an additional 24,323 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Company 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.