Weiss Ratings Reaffirms “Buy (B)” Rating for Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)‘s stock had its “buy (b)” rating restated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Weiss Ratings reports.

VMC has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $321.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.91.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $290.09 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.40. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $311.74. The firm has a market cap of $38.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,521.92. The trade was a 19.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at $207,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 7.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 17,533 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.8% in the third quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 6,260 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 11.1% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by 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.