Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $317.5833.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VMC. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Vulcan Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $356.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $287.97 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $294.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.33. The stock has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $311.74.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 23.28%.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other news, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 4,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.63, for a total transaction of $1,434,692.39. Following the sale, the president owned 41,485 shares in the company, valued at $12,264,210.55. This represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.56, for a total transaction of $208,394.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,521.92. This trade represents a 19.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,343,456. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,293,274,000 after purchasing an additional 311,539 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,924,285 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,437,669,000 after buying an additional 99,298 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,449,844,000 after buying an additional 95,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 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.