Citigroup Cuts Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Price Target to $300.00

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) had its price objective trimmed by Citigroup from $350.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

VMC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vulcan Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, September 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $321.43.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE VMC opened at $242.97 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $237.03 and a 12-month high of $331.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $31.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David Clement sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total transaction of $570,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. This trade represents a 22.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,075,579.53. The trade was a 19.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 268.4% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 16,040 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,924,000 after acquiring an additional 11,686 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 51.6% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 6,359 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,620 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 45.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,605 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) is a major producer and supplier of construction materials in the United States. The company primarily produces and distributes construction aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, which are used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

In addition to aggregates, Vulcan produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete and provides related construction-material services. Its products support highways, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure.