Short Interest in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Grows By 46.7%

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 442,300 shares, a growth of 46.7% from the February 13th total of 301,500 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 130,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of Valmont Industries stock traded up $8.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $327.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 108,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,311. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $330.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $202.01 and a one year high of $379.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VMI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Institutional Trading of Valmont Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castleark Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 21,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,658,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 69,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,428,000 after purchasing an additional 9,516 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,744,000 after purchasing an additional 24,323 shares during the period. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $634,000. 87.84% of the stock is 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.