Harfst & Associates Inc. Buys Shares of 1,118 Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. has acquired a new stake of 1,118 shares in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC), valued at approximately $261,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including BNP Paribas and T. Rowe Price, significantly increased their stakes in Vulcan Materials during the last quarter.
• Vulcan Materials recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.45, missing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter.

Harfst & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,118 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $286.00 to $279.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $304.27.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC traded up $1.4250 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $291.3050. The stock had a trading volume of 246,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,055,046. The company's fifty day moving average is $270.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $298.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.65 by ($0.20). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 12.52%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 27.37%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.