Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Stock Price Target Lowered at Citigroup

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the construction company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 23.11% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on VMC. UBS Group decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $321.43.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

NYSE VMC traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $243.69. 400,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,057. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $237.03 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The company has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $265.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 9.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. The trade was a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $3,866,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,075,579.53. This trade represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VMC. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) is a major producer and supplier of construction materials in the United States. The company primarily produces and distributes construction aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, which are used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

In addition to aggregates, Vulcan produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete and provides related construction-material services. Its products support highways, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure.