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

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $320.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $335.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.72% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VMC. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.14.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $299.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.71. The firm has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total transaction of $2,146,279.35. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,937 shares of company stock valued at $2,687,784. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. National Pension Service increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 175,458 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,703,000 after acquiring an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 857,210 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,113 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,183,000 after buying an additional 36,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 256,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,976,000 after purchasing an additional 41,504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.