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

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) was the target of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 145,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of VMI stock traded down $9.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $289.99. 114,692 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,702. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.98. Valmont Industries has a fifty-two week low of $202.01 and a fifty-two week high of $379.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $329.60 and its 200-day 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. Analysts predict that Valmont Industries will post 18.07 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMI has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMI. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $345,000. Castleark Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 15.8% during 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 last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 141.2% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,744,000 after purchasing an additional 24,323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

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.