Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valmont Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $500.33.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $498.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $429.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $423.62. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $286.50 and a 12 month high of $499.40.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 22.93 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.10%.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robert B. Daugherty Foundation bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,580,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,799,000. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,884,000 after acquiring an additional 153,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 882.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 98,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,829,000 after acquiring an additional 88,893 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

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.