Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Price Target Lowered to $321.00 at Morgan Stanley

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $322.00 to $321.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on VMC. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.85.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $281.38 on Monday. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $218.87 and a 12 month high of $331.09. The stock has a market cap of $36.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $291.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.98.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Vulcan Materials

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.