Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Receives $329.62 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $330.5833.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,293,274,000 after purchasing an additional 311,539 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,924,285 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,437,669,000 after purchasing an additional 99,298 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,016,168,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,318,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $713,209,000 after buying an additional 9,030 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $267.92 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.00.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company’s primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.