Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Valmont Industries a “Moderate Buy”: Four of six covering analysts recommend buying the stock, while two rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $587, with recent targets ranging as high as $678.
• Valmont reported quarterly EPS of $6.14, beating estimates of $5.80, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $1.12 billion, above expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, or $3.08 annualized, representing a 0.7% yield. Shares opened at $467.30, and institutional investors own approximately 87.84% of the stock.

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $587.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valmont Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Valmont Industries stock opened at $467.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.34. Valmont Industries has a twelve month low of $378.02 and a twelve month high of $585.71. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $479.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.88 EPS. Valmont Industries's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 23.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is 11.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Schwietz bought 208 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $486.14 per share, with a total value of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 179.2% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 98.8% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered products and services that support infrastructure, agriculture and industrial applications. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company serves customers in North America and international markets.

Its infrastructure businesses produce utility poles and structures, towers, steel and aluminum structures, lighting and traffic-support systems, and other products used in electrical transmission and distribution, telecommunications, transportation and commercial development.

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