Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $326.72 on Tuesday. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $202.01 and a 12 month high of $379.22. The firm has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $330.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.30.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $610,531,000 after purchasing an additional 6,967 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 grew 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 purchasing an additional 9,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 397,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,908,000 after buying an additional 16,302 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.