Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Valmont Industries from “hold” to “buy.” Analyst sentiment is mixed overall, with three Buy and three Hold ratings; MarketBeat lists a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $587.
• Valmont reported quarterly EPS of $6.24, beating the $5.70 analyst consensus, while revenue of $1.10 billion fell short of the $1.12 billion estimate. Revenue increased 5.5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $403.71, near the low end of their 52-week range of $378.02 to $585.71.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Valmont Industries presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $403.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.41. Valmont Industries has a 52-week low of $378.02 and a 52-week high of $585.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $458.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $476.77. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $6.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 26.25%. Valmont Industries's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 23.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.8% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 118,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,821,000 after buying an additional 4,291 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth about $7,398,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 185.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 1,294 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries designs and manufactures products used in infrastructure and agriculture. Founded in 1946, the company has grown from a maker of steel irrigation equipment into a global provider of engineered products and services.

Its infrastructure business supplies utility structures, poles and towers, lighting and traffic products, telecommunications structures, and protective coatings. These products support electric power, transportation, communications, and other infrastructure markets.

Valmont's agriculture business focuses on mechanized irrigation systems, including center-pivot and linear-move equipment, along with related technology and services.

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