Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Given New $342.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised its Vulcan Materials price target to $342 from $320 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying 20.75% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Vulcan has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $311.94, with 12 Buy, 9 Hold, and 1 Sell rating.
• In its latest quarter, Vulcan reported earnings of $2.83 per share, slightly above estimates, but revenue of $2.18 billion missed expectations and declined 4.7% year over year.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $320.00 to $342.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the construction company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus's target price suggests a potential upside of 20.75% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $308.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $311.94.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

NYSE VMC opened at $283.23 on Monday. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $237.03 and a 52 week high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $257.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.04.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director J. Hill sold 28,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.40, for a total transaction of $7,991,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,621,648.60. The trade was a 48.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 company. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 13,491 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the construction company's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 8,697 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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