Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $269.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $286.03 and its 200 day moving average is $285.56. Vulcan Materials has a 1 year low of $252.35 and a 1 year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In related news, Director J Thomas Hill sold 14,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,075,579.53. The trade was a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 18,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,125 over the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.