Bailard Inc. Invests $523,000 in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $500.33.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

VMI opened at $516.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $441.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $432.54. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.07 and a 1-year high of $528.49.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.Valmont Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 17.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the sale, the director owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.