Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Valmont Industries has a consensus analyst rating of “Buy”, with six covering analysts including four buy ratings and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $525.25.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.51 versus estimates of $4.72 on revenue of $1.03 billion, which also topped forecasts. Revenue rose 6.2% year over year.
• Valmont declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, payable July 15, representing $3.08 annually and a yield of about 0.6%. Insider activity also showed Director Mogens C. Bay selling 17,500 shares in April.

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $525.25.

A number of research firms have issued reports on VMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $532.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.59. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $316.56 and a one year high of $548.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $480.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $447.21. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.32 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries will post 22.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $164,009,000 after buying an additional 32,382 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Valmont Industries by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 399,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $154,855,000 after buying an additional 6,799 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valmont Industries by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $148,509,000 after buying an additional 12,480 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Valmont Industries by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,809,000 after buying an additional 8,715 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.