Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Valmont Industries has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating and have set an average target price of $391.00 for Valmont Industries shares.
• In its latest earnings report, Valmont Industries reported earnings per share of $4.88, exceeding estimates, although revenue growth was only 1.0% year-over-year.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $391.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 0.1%

VMI stock opened at $377.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Valmont Industries has a fifty-two week low of $250.07 and a fifty-two week high of $384.08. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $358.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $327.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13 and a beta of 1.14.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.78 by $0.10. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 22.10%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.91 EPS. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,867 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total value of $1,027,876.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,494,135.92. The trade was a 22.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 57,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,126,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,132,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 47,197 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,474,000 after buying an additional 4,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Company 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.

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