7,199 Shares in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Bought by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 7,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VMI. Covea Finance grew its position in Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 46,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19,096 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $698,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in Valmont Industries by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 30,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,300,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair cut shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded 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.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $277.86 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $317.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.72. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.01 and a 52 week high of $379.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

About Valmont Industries

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.