Vulcan Materials Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.49 (NYSE:VMC)

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.49 per share by the construction company on Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd.

Vulcan Materials has increased its dividend by an average of 7.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Vulcan Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 19.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Vulcan Materials to earn $9.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC traded up $2.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $272.22. 1,377,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 939,194. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $35.96 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.20.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,933 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $273.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.45.

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.