Vulcan Materials Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.49 (NYSE:VMC)

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.49 per share by the construction company on Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd.

Vulcan Materials has increased its dividend by an average of 7.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Vulcan Materials has a payout ratio of 19.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Vulcan Materials to earn $9.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC traded up $0.93 on Tuesday, reaching $273.29. 27,003 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,640. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The firm has a market cap of $36.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $242.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.31.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Vulcan Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,933 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VMC. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.45.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.