Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Raised to Buy at UBS Group

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $318.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $280.00. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.37% from the company’s current price.

VMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Vulcan Materials and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.91.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC opened at $275.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $245.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.50. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,699,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,896,031,000 after acquiring an additional 347,155 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,967,777 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,625,583,000 after acquiring an additional 370,434 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,518,291,000 after acquiring an additional 445,691 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $859,171,000 after acquiring an additional 36,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,746,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $449,248,000 after buying an additional 177,918 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.