Scientech Research LLC Acquires Shares of 2,303 Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries, purchasing 2,303 shares valued at approximately $657,000 during the first quarter.
• A recent sale of 2,867 shares by the Chief Accounting Officer, Timothy P. Francis, resulted in a 22.73% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• Valmont Industries' stock was recently downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, while other analysts have increased target prices, indicating a mixed outlook for the company's shares.

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 46,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,289,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 82.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 226 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 1st quarter worth $317,000. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VMI shares. Wall Street Zen cut Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Valmont Industries from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Valmont Industries from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valmont Industries has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $391.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,867 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total transaction of $1,027,876.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,494,135.92. This trade represents a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 3.3%

Valmont Industries stock traded down $12.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $373.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 193,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,649. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $362.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $250.07 and a 52-week high of $388.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80 and a beta of 1.14.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.10. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 22.10% and a net margin of 5.98%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.91 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Valmont Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at 17.500-19.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.33%.

Valmont Industries Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.