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

Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $293.64.

VMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $287.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the first quarter worth about $880,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 102.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,036 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,557 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 20,154 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,702,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE VMC opened at $263.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $215.08 and a twelve month high of $298.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $238.68 and its 200 day moving average is $259.68.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.