UBS Group Begins Coverage on Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $349.00 price target on the construction company’s stock.

VMC has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $267.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.46.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $292.31 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $208.09 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The company has a market cap of $38.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.81.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1,218.2% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 145 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the first quarter valued at about $622,000. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 3.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 16.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 273.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,836 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,414,000 after acquiring an additional 14,528 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.