Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.91.

VMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $273.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

VMC opened at $268.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $215.08 and a 1-year high of $298.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

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

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,640. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 90.39% of the stock is 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.