AXQ Capital LP Takes $658,000 Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,795,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VMI. StockNews.com downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson downgraded 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair lowered shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Valmont Industries stock opened at $285.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $332.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.98. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $202.01 and a 12 month high of $379.22.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

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