Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases New Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management purchased a new stake of 19,600 shares in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in Q4, valued at roughly $5.59 million.
• Vulcan beat quarterly expectations with $1.35 EPS (vs. $1.10 est.) and revenue of $1.76 billion (up 7.4% YoY), and analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $329.62 price target.
• About 90.39% of VMC is owned by institutional investors (insiders own 0.65%), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 ($2.08 annualized, ~0.7% yield).

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,600 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,345,703,000 after purchasing an additional 414,828 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,316 shares of the construction company's stock worth $397,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 104.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,113 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,183,000 after purchasing an additional 36,823 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth about $1,232,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 67.8% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 14,320 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $329.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $297.00 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $284.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.94. The stock has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.09. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.73%.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.

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