Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $497.00 to $541.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Valmont Industries traded as high as $490.56 and last traded at $487.9850, with a volume of 120499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $466.75.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $500.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $428.36 and its 200 day moving average is $422.25. The company has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 17.10%.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

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.