JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $320.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $335.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.44% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 target price on Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.14.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $287.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $331.09. The company has a market cap of $37.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.63.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $196,175.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,780. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $425,938,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,613,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,861,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,040,914,000 after acquiring an additional 857,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 598.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 719,924 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,771,000 after purchasing an additional 616,850 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.