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

Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $273.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on VMC. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $264.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VMC stock opened at $255.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.17. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $166.43 and a fifty-two week high of $276.58.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 26.36%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, insider Stanley G. Bass sold 8,310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.68, for a total value of $2,091,460.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,376,992.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vulcan Materials news, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.27, for a total value of $78,367.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,991.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stanley G. Bass sold 8,310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.68, for a total value of $2,091,460.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,311 shares in the company, valued at $7,376,992.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,503,484 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $909,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,700 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $282,528,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 271.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 823,141 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $186,861,000 after acquiring an additional 601,268 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 30,160.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 541,359 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,365,000 after acquiring an additional 539,570 shares during the period. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC now owns 560,315 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,195,000 after acquiring an additional 228,510 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.