Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $326.9231.

Several brokerages have commented on VMC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 0.5%

VMC stock opened at $311.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.74. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.