Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $579.99 and last traded at $579.8560, with a volume of 57917 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $570.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VMI. Wall Street Zen raised Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research raised Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $573.75.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $457.84. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total value of $8,615,950.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,009,000 after acquiring an additional 32,382 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 1.7% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 399,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,799 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,509,000 after purchasing an additional 12,480 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,809,000 after purchasing an additional 8,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after purchasing an additional 153,418 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valmont Industries

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.