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

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $322.00 to $321.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the construction company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.78% from the company’s current price.

VMC has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. B. Riley Financial began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.85.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE VMC traded down $0.23 on Monday, hitting $279.66. 247,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,598. 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 twelve month low of $218.87 and a twelve month high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $291.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.11.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during 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%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,293,274,000 after buying an additional 311,539 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after acquiring an additional 414,828 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,449,844,000 after acquiring an additional 95,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 32,012 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.