Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Stock: Copeland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management reduced its Valmont Industries stake by 19.4% in the third quarter, selling 31,307 shares and retaining 129,705 shares worth approximately $60.1 million. Institutional investors still own 87.84% of VMI.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587. Stifel and JPMorgan recently raised their targets to $678 and $620, respectively.
• Valmont reported quarterly EPS of $6.14, surpassing estimates, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $1.12 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

Copeland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 31,307 shares during the quarter. Valmont Industries accounts for approximately 1.4% of Copeland Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 0.67% of Valmont Industries worth $60,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $175,408,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $83,723,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $75,308,000. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $37,717,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on VMI shares. Zacks Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Valmont Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $472.51 on Wednesday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $378.02 and a 1 year high of $585.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $478.39 and a 200 day moving average of $493.87. The stock has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

About Valmont Industries

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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