Gabelli Funds LLC Cuts Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its Valmont Industries stake by 3.5% in the first quarter, leaving it with 61,381 shares valued at about $24.5 million.
• Valmont Industries beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $6.14 EPS on $1.12 billion in revenue, with revenue up 6.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on VMI, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $587, even though Zacks Research recently downgraded the stock to hold.

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,381 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,248 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.32% of Valmont Industries worth $24,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 32,382 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $148,509,000 after purchasing an additional 12,480 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position 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 worth $112,809,000 after purchasing an additional 8,715 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $108,884,000 after purchasing an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $486.07 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $538.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.27. The company has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.33. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $353.41 and a fifty-two week high of $585.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%.Valmont Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. 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 note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valmont Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries 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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