Ground Swell Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,093 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,206,355,000 after purchasing an additional 90,157 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,559,380,000 after purchasing an additional 741,631 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company's stock worth $859,171,000 after buying an additional 36,833 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $380,369,000. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,001 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $329,769,000 after buying an additional 450,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $269.52 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.60 billion, a PE ratio of 39.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is 27.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. UBS Group cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $343.00 to $258.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James cut their target price on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $273.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.73.

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.

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