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 report published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VMI. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:VMI opened at $330.58 on Wednesday. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $202.01 and a one year 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 has a 50-day moving average of $332.14 and a 200-day moving average of $318.72. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,990,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $610,531,000 after acquiring an additional 6,967 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $186,204,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 502,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,007,000 after acquiring an additional 94,884 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 425,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,389,000 after acquiring an additional 9,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 397,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,908,000 after acquiring an additional 16,302 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.