Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Eight analysts rate Vulcan Materials a buy and eight recommend holding, with an average 12-month price target of approximately $327.93 versus the stock’s $281.74 opening price.
• Vulcan Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.59 EPS versus the $2.46 consensus and $2.16 billion in revenue, up 2.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.08 payout and a 0.7% yield; institutional investors own 90.39% of the stock.

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $327.9286.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VMC shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $281.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $289.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.40. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $252.35 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is 24.56%.

Vulcan Materials Company 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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