Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Lowered to Neutral Rating by DA Davidson

DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $380.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $382.00 to $387.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

NYSE VMI opened at $366.88 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 1.05. Valmont Industries has a 52-week low of $202.01 and a 52-week high of $379.22.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 23.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 16.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total value of $6,978,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 131,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,963,231.60. This trade represents a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,967 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Valmont Industries by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,204,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Valmont Industries by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 502,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,007,000 after acquiring an additional 94,884 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Valmont Industries by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 425,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,389,000 after acquiring an additional 9,201 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Valmont Industries by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 397,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,908,000 after acquiring an additional 16,302 shares during the period. 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.