Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $272.45.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

VMC stock opened at $252.79 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $190.51 and a one year high of $278.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.63 and a 200-day moving average of $252.52.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter worth $388,027,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,005,692 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,368,273,000 after buying an additional 755,991 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 621.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 235,879 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $64,581,000 after buying an additional 203,166 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1,191.7% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,005 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,541,000 after buying an additional 146,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 136.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 184,471 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,874,000 after buying an additional 106,324 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.