Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $313.1667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $321.00 price objective (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.56, for a total transaction of $208,394.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,521.92. The trade was a 19.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,895,644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,406,722,000 after acquiring an additional 195,982 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,040,914,000 after acquiring an additional 857,210 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,518,291,000 after acquiring an additional 445,691 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,449,844,000 after acquiring an additional 95,256 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,491,618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $906,961,000 after buying an additional 27,531 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $291.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $311.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.22.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 27.37%.

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.