DA Davidson Downgrades Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) to Neutral

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) was downgraded by stock analysts at DA Davidson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $380.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.53% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $382.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 17.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $378.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Valmont Industries has a 52-week low of $202.01 and a 52-week high of $379.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $322.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68 and a beta of 1.05.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 23.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total value of $6,978,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 131,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,963,231.60. This trade represents a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $67,822,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 57.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 2,077.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 58,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,026,000 after purchasing an additional 56,079 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,180,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 16.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 247,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,825,000 after purchasing an additional 34,772 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.