Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Valmont Industries has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from six analysts, with four buys and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $587, while Stifel and JPMorgan recently raised their targets to $678 and $620, respectively.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $6.14 in earnings per share versus the $5.80 consensus and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.09 billion expected. Revenue increased 6.5% year over year.
• Valmont announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.08 dividend and a 0.6% yield. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 87.84% of the company.

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $587.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Valmont Industries from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 0.2%

VMI opened at $486.94 on Monday. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $360.41 and a one year high of $585.71. The company has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $524.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.90.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%.The firm's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valmont Industries will post 23.08 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In other Valmont Industries news, CFO John L. Schwietz purchased 208 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,530.88. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 56,102.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,046,829 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,535,848,000 after buying an additional 13,023,615 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $175,408,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $99,799,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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