Brokerages Set Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Target Price at $324.85

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $324.0769.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VMC. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth about $425,938,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $383,613,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $273,861,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 48.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,511,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $464,945,000 after purchasing an additional 491,957 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after purchasing an additional 414,828 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $295.65. 43,882 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,213,160. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $38.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $236.88 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.42.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.62%.

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.