Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $289.99 on Friday. Valmont Industries has a fifty-two week low of $202.01 and a fifty-two week high of $379.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $320.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 15.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covea Finance grew its position in Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth $466,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 46,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19,096 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth $698,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

About Valmont Industries

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.