Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) Upgraded at William Blair

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at William Blair from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

VMI has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson cut shares of Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Valmont Industries from $425.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

VMI stock opened at $278.53 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $309.48 and its 200 day simple moving average 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 has a 12-month low of $202.01 and a 12-month high of $379.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.07.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.08. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $969.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.04 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covea Finance raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,661,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 46,244 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19,096 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $698,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,421 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,326,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 73.6% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 30,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,300,000 after buying an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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