Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Valmont Industries in a report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Valmont Industries stock opened at $276.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44 and a beta of 1.03. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $188.63 and a 12 month high of $289.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $262.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.61.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $1.08. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 3.83%. The business had revenue of $977.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 15.94 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 31.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Valmont Industries by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 15,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,534,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 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.