Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) Short Interest Update

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 145,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valmont Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 271,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth $558,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 371.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,338,000 after purchasing an additional 17,278 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 349,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,316,000 after purchasing an additional 13,509 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,588,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 3.1 %

Valmont Industries stock traded down $9.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $289.99. 114,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,702. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.98. Valmont Industries has a 12 month low of $202.01 and a 12 month high of $379.22. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $329.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $320.12.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its 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. The business 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 last year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.