Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Cut to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

VMI stock traded down $40.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $285.69. 630,193 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,898. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.98. Valmont Industries has a 52 week low of $202.01 and a 52 week high of $379.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $332.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,822,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 407,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $123,512,000 after purchasing an additional 148,811 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 2,077.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 58,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,026,000 after buying an additional 56,079 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $14,180,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 16.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 247,714 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $71,825,000 after buying an additional 34,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

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.