Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $325.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $249.30 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $246.20 and a twelve month high of $331.09. 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 company has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $275.73 and its 200 day moving average is $281.21.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. The trade was a 19.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. The trade was a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,168,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at about $688,580,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at about $451,119,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,422 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $366,592,000 after buying an additional 24,187 shares during 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 U.S. producer and supplier of construction materials. The company’s primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, which are used in roads, bridges, buildings and other infrastructure projects.

Vulcan also produces and distributes asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, as well as calcium products used in construction, industrial and other applications. Its products are sold to public-sector customers, contractors, commercial developers and other businesses involved in construction and infrastructure development.

Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Vulcan Materials has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to operate production facilities, distribution terminals and related assets across much of the United States.