Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $323.6429.

VMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total transaction of $2,146,279.35. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 3,712 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 960 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 6,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $310.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $331.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.07.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.14%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.