Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Research Coverage Started at B. Riley

B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $345.00 price target on the construction company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VMC. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. 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 report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Vulcan Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.92.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $306.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $313.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $293.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 14.19%.The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $196,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,780. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total value of $577,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,073.60. This trade represents a 70.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,471 shares of company stock valued at $6,054,615 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Unified Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 2,259 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 648 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 960 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 6,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.