Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:VMI opened at $468.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $479.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.34. Valmont Industries has a twelve month low of $378.02 and a twelve month high of $585.71.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.88 earnings per share. Valmont Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John L. Schwietz bought 208 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,530.88. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $175,408,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,723,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,308,000. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,717,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered products and services that support infrastructure, agriculture and industrial applications. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company serves customers in North America and international markets.

Its infrastructure businesses produce utility poles and structures, towers, steel and aluminum structures, lighting and traffic-support systems, and other products used in electrical transmission and distribution, telecommunications, transportation and commercial development.