Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Short Interest Down 47.0% in March

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 234,300 shares, a decline of 47.0% from the February 28th total of 442,300 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 145,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on VMI shares. StockNews.com lowered Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 3.3 %

Valmont Industries stock traded down $10.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $288.52. The stock had a trading volume of 36,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,452. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $330.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.59. Valmont Industries has a one year low of $202.01 and a one year high of $379.22.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Covea Finance raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,661,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in Valmont Industries by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 18,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $466,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19,096 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $698,000. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.