Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Stock Price Target Cut by Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Vulcan Materials’ price target from $350 to $300 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying approximately 23% upside from the stock’s $243.69 price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average target of $321.43, while Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to “underweight” and Wall Street Zen to “sell.”
• Vulcan exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.59 in EPS versus $2.46 expected and $2.16 billion in revenue; institutional investors own 90.39% of the company.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the construction company's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.11% from the company's current price.

VMC has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vulcan Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $321.43.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

VMC traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 400,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,057. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.76. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $237.03 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 9.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,209 shares in the company, 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 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,868,444,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $688,580,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $451,119,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at about $314,470,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $306,641,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company NYSE: VMC is a major producer and supplier of construction materials in the United States. The company primarily produces and distributes construction aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, which are used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

In addition to aggregates, Vulcan produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete and provides related construction-material services. Its products support highways, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure.

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