Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Vulcan Materials Company by 20.6%, now owning 9,107 shares valued at approximately $2,125,000.
• The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.20, with revenues of $2.10 billion, below the expected $2.23 billion.
• Vulcan Materials has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, set to be paid on September 3rd.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,107 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,356 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $2,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 21.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 951 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 42.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 4,678 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 24.3% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 921 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 27.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 969 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VMC. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $321.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Vulcan Materials from $286.00 to $279.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $308.36.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $292.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,143,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,226. The company's 50-day moving average is $276.81 and its 200 day moving average is $260.12. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.86.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

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