Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Raises Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $2,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,204,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 407,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,512,000 after purchasing an additional 148,811 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 349,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,316,000 after buying an additional 13,509 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,428,000 after buying an additional 4,940 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 292,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,927,000 after buying an additional 24,224 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of VMI stock opened at $328.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $329.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.01 and a 52 week high of $379.22.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson cut Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.