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

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 234,300 shares, a decline of 47.0% from the February 28th total of 442,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 145,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. William Blair downgraded Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of VMI stock traded down $9.21 on Friday, hitting $289.99. The stock had a trading volume of 114,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,702. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $329.60 and a 200 day moving average of $320.12. Valmont Industries has a 12-month low of $202.01 and a 12-month high of $379.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covea Finance boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 44.6% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 18,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake 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 worth $14,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $698,000. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Company 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.