Analysts Set Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Price Target at $326.29

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $326.2857.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VMC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. 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, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, B. Riley Financial began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE VMC opened at $258.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $218.87 and a one year high of $331.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $298.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.80.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. Vulcan Materials’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,293,274,000 after purchasing an additional 311,539 shares during 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 valued at $2,437,669,000 after buying an additional 99,298 shares during 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 valued at $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,449,844,000 after buying an additional 95,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,168,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.