Head-To-Head Review: Buzzi Unicem (OTCMKTS:BZZUF) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Buzzi Unicem (OTCMKTS:BZZUF) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) are both construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Buzzi Unicem has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Buzzi Unicem and Vulcan Materials”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Buzzi Unicem	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Vulcan Materials	$7.42 billion	5.08	$911.90 million	$7.16	39.83

Vulcan Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Buzzi Unicem.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Buzzi Unicem and Vulcan Materials, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Buzzi Unicem	0	0	0	0	0.00
Vulcan Materials	0	2	10	2	3.00

Vulcan Materials has a consensus target price of $304.2727, suggesting a potential upside of 6.70%. Given Vulcan Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vulcan Materials is more favorable than Buzzi Unicem.

Profitability

This table compares Buzzi Unicem and Vulcan Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Buzzi Unicem	N/A	N/A	N/A
Vulcan Materials	12.52%	12.81%	6.41%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Buzzi Unicem on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Buzzi Unicem

Buzzi S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates. It has operations primarily in Italy, the United States, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Mexico, and Brazil. Buzzi S.p.A. was formerly known as Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. and changed its name to Buzzi S.p.A. in May 2023. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Casale Monferrato, Italy. Buzzi S.p.A. is a subsidiary of Fimedi – S.P.A.

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. It also offers asphalt mix and asphalt construction paving services; ready-mixed concrete; and calcium products for the animal feed, plastics, and water treatment industries. The company was formerly known as Virginia Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Vulcan Materials Company. Vulcan Materials Company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.