Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, irrigation systems manufacturer Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Valmont's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Valmont facts

Headquarters (founded) Omaha, Neb. (1946)
Market Cap $3.5 billion
Industry Industrial machinery
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $2.9 billion
Management Chairman/CEO Mogens Bay
Vice President/Principal Accounting Officer Mark Jaksich
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 17%
Cash/Debt $328.4 million / $491.2 million
Dividend Yield 0.7%
Competitors Ajax Metal Processing
Lindsay
Thomas & Betts

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 287 members who have rated Valmont believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.  

Just last week, one of those Fools, All-Star reddingrunner, briefly touched on the tailwinds working in Valmont's favor: 

[I]rrigation is a growth story -- more farms worldwide will be adding irrigation equipment. [C]enter-pivot irrigation is a growth story -- more farms will be replacing [old equipment] with the less wasteful center-pivot models offered by [Valmont].

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