AGF Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 15,550 Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 15,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,769,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 46,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19,096 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 9,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 7,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $326.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $330.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.30. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.01 and a 1-year high of $379.22. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.