Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Short Interest Update

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 234,300 shares, a drop of 47.0% from the February 28th total of 442,300 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 145,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair lowered shares of Valmont Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. DA Davidson downgraded Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 271,604 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,752,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $558,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 371.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,927 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,338,000 after buying an additional 17,278 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 349,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,316,000 after acquiring an additional 13,509 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter valued at about $2,588,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:VMI traded up $3.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $288.99. The stock had a trading volume of 131,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,767. Valmont Industries has a twelve month low of $202.01 and a twelve month high of $379.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $328.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $320.57.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.83%.

About Valmont Industries

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.