Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Takes Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec initiated a position in Valmont Industries, buying 38,888 shares valued at approximately $22.5 million, or about 0.20% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 87.84% of VMI.
• Valmont reported quarterly EPS of $6.14, beating estimates of $5.80, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $1.12 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, representing a 0.6% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with four Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $587.00. VMI shares recently opened at $476.92.

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 38,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $22,462,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned about 0.20% of Valmont Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth about $1,141,369,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $164,009,000 after buying an additional 32,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $148,509,000 after buying an additional 12,480 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.1% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $112,809,000 after buying an additional 8,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $476.92 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $515.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.35. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $360.41 and a one year high of $585.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.35.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.88 earnings per share. Valmont Industries's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is 11.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VMI. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Valmont Industries from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $587.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In other news, CFO John L. Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. This represents a 7.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of Valmont Industries 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 owned 2,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc NYSE: VMI is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont's solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.

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