Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 38,753 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Impax Asset Management Group plc reduced its Valmont stake by 12.9%, selling 38,753 shares and retaining 260,738 shares (about 1.32% of the company) valued at roughly $104.9 million at quarter-end.
• Valmont beat expectations for the quarter with $5.51 EPS vs. $4.72 expected and $1.03 billion in revenue (up 6.2% year-over-year), and analysts forecast roughly 22.93 EPS for the year.
• Dividend increase — the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.77 (a $3.08 annualized payout), implying a yield of about 0.6% and a payout ratio near 17.1%.

Impax Asset Management Group plc reduced its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 260,738 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 38,753 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 1.32% of Valmont Industries worth $104,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 225.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 67,630 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,300,000 after acquiring an additional 46,825 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 8.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 59,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,676 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Valmont Industries during the first quarter valued at about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 72,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 223.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 152 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 0.8%

VMI opened at $498.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 1.24. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $286.50 and a 12 month high of $499.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $429.37 and a 200 day moving average of $423.43.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.93 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Valmont Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $500.33.

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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