Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $326.5385.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VMC. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $293.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 target price on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $303.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $286.49 and its 200-day moving average is $290.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 9.27 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter worth $25,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 7.2% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. DV Trading LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 175.0% in the first quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 880 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 29.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,754 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,374,000 after buying an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankChampaign National Association bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $706,000. Institutional investors 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.