Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Boosts Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its Valmont Industries stake by 671% in the first quarter, ending with 15,959 shares valued at about $6.38 million.
• Valmont reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.51 and revenue of $1.03 billion, both beating analyst expectations; revenue also rose 6.2% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, and analysts remain constructive overall with an average Buy rating and a $573.75 price target.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 671.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,959 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 13,889 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.08% of Valmont Industries worth $6,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. Robert B. Daugherty Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth $100,580,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $99,799,000. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $108,884,000 after purchasing an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 882.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 98,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,829,000 after buying an additional 88,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total value of $8,615,950.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 112,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI stock opened at $554.87 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $531.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.33. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $326.22 and a 52-week high of $585.71.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valmont Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Valmont Industries from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valmont Industries has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $573.75.

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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