Why VMI may not be the best tool to help investors grow their portfolios
Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) is an American agriculture and infrastructure company with over 11,000 employees across 85 facilities in 22 countries. VMI manufactures Valley center pivot and linear irrigation equipment, windmill support structures, lighting and traffic poles, and steel utility poles.
On April 7, Valmont Industries announced plans to host their first quarter of 2022 earnings conference call on Thursday, April 21. A press release outlining VMI's first quarter results will also be distributed after the market closes on Wednesday, April 20. For the final quarter of 2021, Valmont stock posted an EPS (earnings per share) of $2.73. Wall Street analysts project that the infrastructure name will report earnings of a slightly lower $2.44 for the upcoming Q1 earnings report.
Valmont stock is fairly flat year-over-year and VMI is currently trading up 19% since bottoming at a 52-week low of $203.31 at the end of January. Shares of VMI have decreased in price by a slight 3% year-to-date and Valmont stock is currently down just 9% from its all-time high of $265.09 reached in early November. Valmont stock also offers a dividend yield of 0.92% with a forward dividend of $2.20.
According to VMI's latest annual report, the infrastructure company generated 21% revenue growth and 39% net income growth for fiscal 2021. Valmont has also managed to increase revenues and net income 27% and 107%, respectively, since fiscal 2018, maintaining relatively consistent growth on a yearly basis. In addition, VMI is estimated to increase their revenues 11.2% and their earnings 15.9% for fiscal 2022, as well as grow their revenues 5.9% and their earnings 11.2% for fiscal 2023.
However, Valmont stock's valuation is still on the higher end, given the business’ growth rate. VMI trades at a forward price-earnings ratio of 18.21 and a price-sales ratio of 1.47. From a fundamental point of view, the infrastructure company also lacks security. This is largely due to its balance sheet, which holds $177 million in cash and $1.13 billion in total debt, making Valmont stock a relatively risky investment with low reward potential.