Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $327.9286.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:VMC opened at $275.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $289.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.48. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total transaction of $570,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,914,731.60. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.