Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 3,018 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 391.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VMI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,990,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $610,531,000 after acquiring an additional 6,967 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 502,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,007,000 after purchasing an additional 94,884 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,940 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 292,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,927,000 after purchasing an additional 24,224 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 289,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair lowered shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $425.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $282.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $314.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.63. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.01 and a 52-week high of $379.22.

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

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This is an increase 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 0.96%. 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.