Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Valmont Industries was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “strong-buy”, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Other firms have also turned bullish, including Stifel and JPMorgan raising price targets, while MarketBeat now shows a consensus “Buy” rating with an average target of $573.75.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $5.51 beating estimates and revenue of $1.03 billion topping expectations; the stock opened at $532.89 and was down about 1% on the day.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $541.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $573.75.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 1.0%

VMI stock opened at $532.89 on Friday. Valmont Industries has a 1-year low of $329.21 and a 1-year high of $585.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $539.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 32,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $148,509,000 after acquiring an additional 12,480 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Valmont Industries by 3.1% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,809,000 after purchasing an additional 8,715 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Valmont Industries by 118.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valmont Industries

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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