Xponance Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Xponance Inc. decreased its holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 419 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VMI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,100,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,407,000 after purchasing an additional 54,189 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 418,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $114,919,000 after buying an additional 14,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Valmont Industries by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,040,000 after buying an additional 73,084 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 227,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,142,000 after acquiring an additional 31,017 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 794.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 198,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,373,000 after acquiring an additional 175,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI stock opened at $289.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 1.03. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $188.63 and a one year high of $307.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $282.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.53.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.72. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 23.30%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VMI. StockNews.com raised Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.49, for a total value of $686,527.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,998.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total transaction of $480,192.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,942.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.49, for a total transaction of $686,527.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,826,998.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valmont Industries 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.