Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Vulcan Materials to “sell” from “hold,” although analyst sentiment remains mixed; the consensus rating is “hold” with an average price target of $325.
• Vulcan reported quarterly EPS of $2.59, beating estimates of $2.46, while revenue reached $2.16 billion and rose 2.5% year over year.
• The stock opened at $253.24, near its 12-month low of $246.20, while insiders sold 18,212 shares worth about $5.1 million over the past 90 days.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $325.00.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $253.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.28. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $246.20 and a 12-month high of $331.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In related news, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,547,599.64. This trade 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 a total of 18,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,125 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 30,567.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 68,744,705 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,280,375,000 after purchasing an additional 68,520,546 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter worth $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,016,168,000 after acquiring an additional 32,012 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at $688,580,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company's stock worth $492,642,000 after purchasing an additional 126,523 shares in 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 major U.S. producer and supplier of construction materials. The company's primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, which are used in roads, bridges, buildings and other infrastructure projects.

Vulcan also produces and distributes asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, as well as calcium products used in construction, industrial and other applications. Its products are sold to public-sector customers, contractors, commercial developers and other businesses involved in construction and infrastructure development.

Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Vulcan Materials has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to operate production facilities, distribution terminals and related assets across much of the United States.

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