Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $323.6429.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VMC. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $196,175.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total value of $2,146,279.35. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 175,458 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,040,914,000 after buying an additional 857,210 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 104.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,113 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,183,000 after acquiring an additional 36,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 256,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,976,000 after acquiring an additional 41,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of VMC opened at $304.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $302.44 and a 200 day moving average of $296.79. The company has a market cap of $39.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.07. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $215.08 and a 52-week high of $331.09.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.14%.

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.