Natixis Takes $1.33 Million Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Natixis purchased a new position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,332,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 91.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,488 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,200,000 after acquiring an additional 6,927 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter valued at about $698,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 12.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 407,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,512,000 after buying an additional 148,811 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VMI. William Blair downgraded Valmont Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $425.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of VMI stock opened at $278.53 on Wednesday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $202.01 and a twelve month high of $379.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $309.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.08. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $969.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.04 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Valmont Industries Profile

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.

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