Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Valmont Industries (VMI) from a "hold" to a strong-buy, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $500.33 as several firms raised targets (e.g., JPMorgan $510, Stifel $541).
• Valmont beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $5.51 vs. $4.72 expected and revenue of $1.03 billion vs. $994.85 million, with revenue up 6.2% year-over-year and a 24.94% return on equity.
• Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares at roughly $492.34 (~$8.6M), reducing his holding by 13.48%; insiders now own about 1.42% of the stock.

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Valmont Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $500.33.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of VMI stock opened at $510.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $432.49 and a 200 day moving average of $426.21. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37 and a beta of 1.36. Valmont Industries has a twelve month low of $299.24 and a twelve month high of $513.58.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.Valmont Industries's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valmont Industries will post 22.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total value of $8,615,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $739,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $1,658,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,336,000 after acquiring an additional 10,518 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 441.2% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 4,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $5,663,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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