Southernsun Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Valmont Industries comprises 0.7% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Southernsun Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Valmont Industries worth $6,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $91,878,000. Sei Investments Co. raised 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 39.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,040,000 after acquiring an additional 73,084 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 113.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 71,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,656,000 after acquiring an additional 38,080 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in Valmont Industries by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 288,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,689,000 after acquiring an additional 25,237 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Valmont Industries from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Valmont Industries from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In related news, Director Daas Kaj Den sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.78, for a total transaction of $338,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,928,414.32. The trade was a 10.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $5,380,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 154,730 shares in the company, valued at $48,968,950.40. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,977 shares of company stock worth $13,950,095 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $345.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $321.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.56. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.01 and a 1-year high of $354.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 1.03.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.10% and a net margin of 7.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.30%.

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.