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

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $317.5833.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VMC. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $356.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $196,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total value of $2,146,279.35. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,471 shares of company stock worth $6,054,615 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Unified Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 2,259 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 6.2% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 648 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.1% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 960 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 6,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE VMC opened at $292.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $290.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.77. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $311.74. The firm has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.28%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.