Analysts Set Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Price Target at $293.64

Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $295.64.

VMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $343.00 to $258.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Trust Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 6,386 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.1% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 12,327 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 11.2% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 11,211 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the construction company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $529,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:VMC traded up $3.69 on Tuesday, reaching $267.32. 1,010,739 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 935,896. The firm has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.80. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $298.31.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change 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 28.61%.

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.