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

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $326.2857.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC stock opened at $267.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $296.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.40. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $218.87 and a one year high of $331.09. The company has a market capitalization of $34.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 25.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,293,274,000 after acquiring an additional 311,539 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,924,285 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,437,669,000 after acquiring an additional 99,298 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $2,345,703,000 after purchasing an additional 414,828 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,449,844,000 after purchasing an additional 95,256 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,016,168,000 after purchasing an additional 32,012 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently 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.