Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $967,000 in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $739,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $1,658,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,336,000 after buying an additional 10,518 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $5,663,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 283,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,015,000 after acquiring an additional 3,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries 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 transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $525.63 on Friday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.00 and a 52-week high of $535.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $458.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.53.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.32 earnings per share. Valmont Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VMI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.25.

About Valmont Industries

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.