Royce & Associates LP Cuts Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Royce & Associates LP cut its position in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 178,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,303 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.89% of Valmont Industries worth $54,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 33.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth $238,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Valmont Industries by 2.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,416,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Valmont Industries by 11.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VMI. StockNews.com raised Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $327.63 on Friday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.01 and a 52 week high of $379.22. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.81.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

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.