Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

VMI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research cut Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valmont Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $425.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. Valmont Industries has a 52 week low of $378.02 and a 52 week high of $585.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $456.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $476.46.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $6.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.70 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 24th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 24th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Valmont Industries during the second quarter worth about $1,141,369,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 43.6% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 343,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,044,000 after purchasing an additional 104,259 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $175,408,000. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 198,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,971,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 160,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,003,000 after purchasing an additional 42,126 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries designs and manufactures products used in infrastructure and agriculture. Founded in 1946, the company has grown from a maker of steel irrigation equipment into a global provider of engineered products and services. Its infrastructure business supplies utility structures, poles and towers, lighting and traffic products, telecommunications structures, and protective coatings. These products support electric power, transportation, communications, and other infrastructure markets.