Valmont (VMI) Announces Hike Of 20% In Quarterly Dividend

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) announced that its board approved an increase in its quarterly cash dividend.

The revised dividend of 45 cents per share is 20% higher than the previous quarterly dividend of 37.5 cents. The increased dividend will be paid out on Apr 15, 2020, to its shareholders of record as of Mar 27, 2020. Following the hike, the company’s new annualized dividend amounted to $1.80 per share. Notably, it previously hiked the dividend in May 2014.

Per management, the dividend hike is in recognition of the company’s healthy balance sheet and confidence in its capacity to deliver good cash flows throughout its business cycles.

Notably, Valmont aims to strike a prudent balance between the return of excess capital to shareholders and maintaining the ability to finance sustained growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. This is in accordance with the philosophy of capital allocation adopted by the board in 2014.

Per management, the increase in dividend showcases the company’s commitment to offer shareholders with sustained, long-term profitable growth.

Valmont’s shares have dipped 10.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.3% decline.

The company expects earnings per share of $7.30-$8.00 for 2020. It also envisions revenue growth of 4-7% year over year in 2020. Valmont expects sales and earnings growth to be driven by infrastructure businesses.

Per the company, growth at the Engineered Support Structures segment will likely be supported by transportation market demand from continued government investments in infrastructure development.

Valmont anticipates wireless communication sales to reach 10% growth rate in 2020. Construction end-markets in Australia are not expected to substantially improve in 2020, thus impacting its Access Systems business.

The Utility segment’s sales are forecast to be driven by strong market demand from ongoing investments in grid hardening and renewable energy sources. Moreover, the coatings segment’s revenues are expected to be similar to 2019 due to a relatively stable global industrial production levels.

For the Irrigation segment, the company does not anticipate a meaningful turnaround in demand as net farm income levels remain muted. It envisions segment sales to be flat to down around 3% from the level reported in 2019.

Valmont Industries, Inc. Price and Consensus

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Valmont currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) , NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG) and Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) .

Daqo New Energy has a projected earnings growth rate of 353.7% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 95.3% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NovaGold has a projected earnings growth rate of 11.1% for 2020. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company’s shares have surged 131.8% year over year.

Commercial Metals currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a projected earnings growth rate of 20.7% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 16.3% in a year.

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